From making an excavation for the country’s first nuclear plant to hosting international forums, Uzbekistan is working actively to expand its multifaceted cooperation with Rosatom. Uzbek experts are engaged in discussing international safety standards for the nuclear industry. An angling team from Uzbekistan was among the winners of a fishing tournament for nuclear professionals from different countries.
Construction of Uzbekistan’s small-capacity nuclear power plant (SNPP) has entered a pivotal phase. It involves excavating a pit for the foundation of a power unit with a RITM-200N reactor to be built in the Farish district of the Jizzakh region to a Russian design. Approximately 1.5 million cubic meters of soil will be excavated for the station, with the pit to reach 13 meters deep.
Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev and UzAtom Agency Director Azim Akhmedkhajaev gave the green light to the start of excavation work. Construction machinery extracted the first cubic meters of soil.
“Just as in all our international projects, we strive to increase local content in the construction of this SNPP. Much work will be done by subcontractors from Uzbekistan. Rosatom will build a station with a service life of at least 60 years and will provide all necessary support during its operation. We are looking forward to many decades of fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation,” Alexey Likhachev emphasized.
Currently, work is underway to conduct engineering surveys, finalize design, and set up a construction yard.
The final design of the nuclear power plant provides for the construction of two large power units with Generation III+ VVER-1000 reactors and two 55 MW power units with RITM-200N reactors. This will be the world’s first facility to feature both high- and low-capacity reactors on the same site.
Experts from Uzbekistan participated in the 19th International Nuclear Forum on Safety of Nuclear Technologies and Safety Culture. The forum was held at the Rosatom Technical Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia, bringing together industry professionals from 10 countries. The forum discussed nuclear and radiation safety issues at every stage of the lifecycle of nuclear energy facilities.
“Safety is a personal value for every nuclear industry employee. In 2024, we recorded the lowest number of fatal injuries in the entire history of the nuclear industry. 94% of Rosatom’s subsidiaries operate without injuries; the number of fires has decreased sixfold; zero accidents at hazardous production facilities and a lost-time injury frequency rate of 0.07 are the best indicators among Russian industrial companies,” said Sergey Adamchik, Chief Inspector at Rosatom.
Rosatom organized its third international fishing tournament. The competition was held for the first time in Türkiye, near the Akkuyu NPP construction site. A team from Uzbekistan won the Biggest Fish category. The tournament winner was the team from Hungary, with teams from Indonesia and Egypt taking second and third place.
The tournament featured 14 amateur anglers as well as reporters and representatives of the expert community from seven of Rosatom’s partnered countries, which are either working on or planning nuclear energy projects. Employees of Akkuyu Nuclear JSC also participated in the event. When weighing the catch, they checked the caught fish for radiation using specialized equipment and confirmed it was totally safe.
“This international fishing tournament is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our careful attitude towards nature when building large nuclear energy facilities. It is important that representatives of partner countries see with their own eyes our responsible approach to preserving the ecosystems. The tournament also shows that the infrastructure surrounding a nuclear power station transforms the region into a comfortable place for living, recreation, and tourism, creating new opportunities for several generations of local residents,” noted Alexandra Yustus, Deputy CEO for Communications at Rosatom International Network.
“This fishing tournament held in the Akkuyu NPP host community demonstrates that the facility is open to the public, and also confirms that it is safe for local ecosystems to build a nuclear power plant. We hold annual competitions for Turkish anglers at the regional level, and this year we were happy to welcome international contestants at the site. Such tournaments show that nuclear power plants are built to meet high environmental standards and do not impact the natural environment,” said Sergey Butskikh, CEO at Akkuyu Nuclear JSC.
As part of the tournament, the Akkuyu Nuclear team organized a visit to the under-construction Akkuyu NPP and a cultural program for the tournament participants.
Photo by: Uzatom Agency, Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBRAE RAN), Akkuyu Nuclear JSC
