Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has visited Jizzakh region to inspect the progress of the integrated nuclear power plant currently under construction. During the visit, Uzatom Director Azim Akhmedkhadzhaev presented the latest updates on the project, including ongoing site preparation and construction activities.
The integrated nuclear facility will feature two large and two small reactors, and work is actively underway on excavating foundations for the reactor buildings. Simultaneously, preparations for the construction base continue, including site levelling, concrete work, and installation of reinforcement structures. A temporary residential complex has been built to accommodate construction workers.
Officials also presented the concept for a monotown designed to house NPP specialists and their families. The town, located 16 kilometres from the plant, is planned to accommodate 10,000 residents and will include comprehensive social, service, and infrastructure facilities.
The visit highlighted plans to localise the production of construction materials needed for the plant and to expand training programmes at higher education institutions to ensure a skilled workforce for the future facility. Mirziyoyev emphasised the importance of timely construction and development of accompanying infrastructure to ensure the success and safety of Uzbekistan’s nuclear energy programme.
In May 2024, during the state visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Uzbekistan, a protocol was signed amending the intergovernmental agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan. This expanded cooperation, which now provides for the construction of NPPs of both large and small capacities according to Russian projects.
In September, at World Atomic Week in Moscow, additional documents were signed further expanding cooperation between Rosatom and Uzatom. The project will include two high-power power units based on VVER-1000 generation 3+ reactors and two low-power NPP (ASMM – Atomnoi Stantsii Maloi Moshnosti) units with 55 MWe RITM-200N reactors.
Contracts were also signed for the supply of fuel for low- and high-power NPPs. The project will be the first in the world to build large and small reactors on the same site.
In October, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev and Azim Akhmedkhadzhaev, head of Uzatom, launched the initial stage of work on the construction of a the first ASMM. The first stage includes the development of a pit for the plant, being built in the Farish district of the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan. About 1.5m cubic metres of soil will be removed to excavate the pit, which will be 13 metres deep.
Engineering surveys and design and preparatory works are under way, with a plan for design documentation to be submitted for review by the end of the year. Rosatom said that first concrete for the initial ASMM unit is expected to be poured in March 2026. Russia’s first land-based multi-unit ASMM is currently under construction in Yakut, with the launch of the first unit scheduled for 2027.
