Azim Akhmedkhadjaev and Alexey Likhachev. Photo: Strana Rosatom newspaper website
On June 20, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russia’s state corporation Rosatom and Uzbekistan’s Agency for Nuclear Energy Development under the government (“Uzatom”) signed an agreement to jointly study the feasibility of building a large-capacity nuclear power plant (NPP) in Uzbekistan. The agreement was signed by Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev and Uzatom Director Azim Akhmedkhadjaev, according to Atommedia.online.
The agreement builds on commitments made during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Uzbekistan in May 2024, as well as on Likhachev’s meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the “INNOPROM. Central Asia” exhibition in April 2025. At that time, the Uzbek side decided to explore the possibility of building a large-scale nuclear plant.
The document outlines the construction of two VVER-1000 reactor units, with the potential to expand to four. The project will be based on Russian technologies already implemented in Russia, China (Tianwan NPP), and India (Kudankulam NPP). Currently, VVER-1000 reactors have accumulated over 420 reactor-years of operational experience.
“Rosatom is pleased to serve as Uzbekistan’s strategic partner in developing nuclear energy,” Likhachev said at the signing ceremony. “Today, we are scaling up our cooperation: while continuing the construction of a small modular reactor in Jizzakh Region, we are taking an important step toward realizing a project based on VVER-1000 reactors.”
He added that combining small and large nuclear power plants would allow Uzbekistan to establish a powerful carbon-free energy cluster. This cluster would help meet the country's growing electricity demand and serve as a foundation for industrial and innovation-driven development.
Likhachev also noted that Rosatom has already begun producing reactor equipment for the first block of Uzbekistan’s nuclear plant: a 205-ton ingot of special alloy steel has been cast, which will be used to manufacture the RITM-200 reactor vessel.
It was previously reported that the capacity of the large nuclear plant would be 2 GW, while the small modular reactor (SMR) would generate 110 MW.
The original cooperation agreement between Uzbekistan and Russia on nuclear energy, which included plans for the construction of Uzbekistan’s first nuclear power plant, was signed in December 2017. At the time, the first unit—costing $11 billion—was scheduled to be commissioned in 2028, and the plant was expected to consist of two 1,200 MW units.
A new contract with Rosatom for the design, supply, and construction of a small nuclear power station was signed on May 27, 2024, in Tashkent during President Putin’s state visit. The SMR will be located near Lake Tuzkan in the Farish District of Jizzakh Region. In March 2025, it was announced that the first concrete for the SMR is expected to be poured in the second quarter of 2026.
