Director General of Rosatom Alexey Likhachev in an interview with “Rossiyskaya gazeta” spoke about the NPP in Uzbekistan.
“Now Uzbekistan is actively working to create a legislative framework to ensure the safe use of atomic energy in accordance with international best practices. The second stage of survey work has begun on a priority site near Tuzkon Lake in the Jizzakh region.
Engineering surveys involve not only Uzbek and Russian specialists, but also international experts, and the entire process is implemented in accordance with international requirements and standards. The main task is to ensure that the site meets all IAEA standards for the first priority – ensuring safety.
A nuclear power plant is a source of base load with a stable, predictable and, importantly, attractive price for electricity.
Uzbekistan pays great attention to personnel training, and in this regard, we are actively cooperating. On September 3, a branch of our National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, which is recognized as one of the best in the world, will be opened in Tashkent.
Thousands of young people will be able to get a good education. This will then enable them to find work in a high-tech field, such as nuclear energy, or in related engineering fields.
Considering the international experience in building Russian NPP, it is estimated that $1 invested in NPP under the Rosatom project, which includes 2 VVER-1200 reactors and localization at 20-30%, can bring $1.9 to local suppliers, $4.3 in the country’s GDP and $1.4 to the State budget in the form of tax revenues.
Nuclear generation is an important factor in ensuring the energy security of the state for decades ahead. In fact, today nuclear energy is the only affordable, reliable and environmentally friendly energy source that can provide stable basic generation.
Construction of NPP is a long-term project that unites Russia and Uzbekistan for the next century,” Likhachev said.
Earlier, it was reported that Uzbekistan would take a loan from Russia for the NPP construction. The estimated cost of building a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan will be about $11 billion.
