Russian President Vladimir Putin and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev have officially launched the construction of the first power unit of an integrated nuclear power plant to be built in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh region.
Putin and Mirziyoyev formally initiated construction of the first energy block of the integrated nuclear power plant, which will be located in the Jizzakh region. The project is being described as the “flagship” of Russian-Uzbek cooperation, as it will combine both large-scale and small-scale nuclear reactors at the same site.
According to a Sputnik correspondent, the ceremony marking the start of the “first concrete” pouring process for the plant’s first power unit took place during talks between the two leaders at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg. Putin and Mirziyoyev connected via video conference to the construction site and symbolically pressed the button to begin the work.
The integrated nuclear power plant project, regarded as the flagship of cooperation between Russia and Uzbekistan, also stands out because of its unique design. Under the project, both high-capacity and small modular nuclear reactors will be constructed on the same site.
The planned facility will include two high-capacity power units based on VVER-1000 reactors, as well as one power unit consisting of two RITM-200N reactors, each with a capacity of 55 megawatts (MW).
The pouring of the “first concrete” into the reactor building’s foundation signifies, under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards, that the facility has officially entered the status of a “nuclear power plant under construction.”