The government of Uzbekistan has previously expressed interest in developing its civilian nuclear power capabilities and weaning the country’s rising energy needs off of natural gas. Close collaboration with ROSATOM has already led to agreements regarding the construction of a power plant with two VVER-1200 reactors. The project comes with a hefty $11bn price tag, though ROSATOM has assured that most of this will be financed by a Russian loan with preferential rates.

However, development of the plant has stagnated due to the delays in choosing a site. While the IAEA has commended Uzbekistan’s commitment to safety in pursuing this path of power generation. The IAEA has recommended we sign on to several international agreements regarding nuclear safety and nuclear accident liability, while they have also stated we are in a good position to move forward given our experience with nuclear technology including the several research reactors in the country.

With that, the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan has agreed to sign and ratify the 1994 Convention on Nuclear Safety, which obligates the state to implement safety measures on site selection, design and construction, operation and safety verification, and emergency preparedness. We will also sign and ratify the 1986 Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident and the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage.

To meet the requirements of these conventions and to ensure that our nuclear sector develops according to plan, we are establishing the Agency for the Oversight of Atomic Energy under the UzAtom Agency which will be staffed by experts in the field and receive $50,000,000 in funding annually to meet the safety demands (note: this funding is specifically for additional safety requirements stipulated by the aforementioned conventions, this is not the funding that will go towards the maintenance of the facility itself.)

Ultimately, the site that has been decided on rests on the shores of Lake Tuzkan between the villages of Uchkulach and Uzunkuduk. The site was chosen based on the desire to add two more reactors sometime in the future, while we also expect the town of Yangikishlak to experience economic growth from jobs at the facility.

In addition, the Uzbek government is offering a new scholarship for individuals interested in nuclear energy fields at the National University of Uzbekistan and the Samarkand State University, including bachelors/masters tracks in the field. We will also request additional faculty from Moscow to expand the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute Tashkent from 100 students to 150 students. MEPhI Tashkent offers free tuition in exchange for a commitment to work for five years at UzAtom or at the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences.

Following final approval from ROSATOM, concrete will begin to be poured at the site this year and the reactors will be fully commissioned in 2028 and 2030. The next two reactors at the facility will likely be commissioned in 2035 and 2036, though we have yet to formalize an agreement on those.