BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Russia Vladimir Putin have officially authorized the commencement of construction works for the first power unit of Uzbekistan's landmark integrated nuclear power plant (NPP), TurkicWorld reports via the press service of the Uzbek president.
During the launch ceremony, held via a live video conference between St. Petersburg and the construction site in the Farshinsky District of the Jizzakh Region in Uzbekistan, a symbolic pouring of the first concrete into the foundation slab of the future reactor building took place. The high-level briefing was attended by Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), alongside senior nuclear industry officials from both nations.
Addressing the participants, President Mirziyoyev expressed deep gratitude to both Vladimir Putin and Rafael Grossi for their consistent personal support and operational oversight of the strategic energy project. The Uzbek leader also extended high commendations to the joint engineering teams and technical specialists from Uzbekistan and Russia for their profound professionalism.
"The implementation of this project marks the beginning of a transformative new era in Uzbekistan's technological, industrial, and scientific development, laying the foundation for an entirely new economic branch - nuclear energy," Mirziyoyev emphasized during the teleconference.
The state-of-the-art facility features a unique integrated blueprint, combining the latest advancements in small modular reactor (SMR) generation with large-scale baseload power generation. The project configuration encompasses two large-capacity Generation 3+ VVER-1000 reactors and power units equipped with RITM-200N reactors.
President Mirziyoyev underscored that radiation and operational safety remain absolute and unconditional priorities for the republic. Accordingly, the construction phases and subsequent operational preparations are being executed in strict compliance with advanced international safety benchmarks and cutting-edge engineering solutions, all under the continuous monitoring and verification of the IAEA. The leadership expressed firm confidence that the realization of this large-scale initiative will comprehensively strengthen the strategic partnership and alliance between Uzbekistan and Russia.
