The public hearing was held in Forish district, Jizzakh region (the area
of operation of the future power facility) on December 23, 2025. The hearing was dedicated to the NPP
construction project comprising large and small capacity power units.
The event was attended by 295 people — residents of Forish district and the neighboring districts, representatives of over 30 organizations, local authorities, scientific community, environmental organizations, journalists and foreign experts in the field of nuclear energy.
Within the framework of the public hearing, specialists of the Engineering Division of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom presented Russian designs of NPPs with RITM-200N and VVER-1000 reactors.
Pavel Bezrukov, Vice President – Director of NPP construction in the Republic of Uzbekistan, said: “Currently, works for pit excavation for a small NPP (SNPP) are under way. The Engineering Division of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, jointly with the Uzbek customer, is involved in preparation for the key milestone of 2026 – pouring of first concrete for the foundation slab of the SNPP reactor building. Simultaneously, design documentation for the future power units of large capacity is being developed. We appreciate the interest of the public in Rosatom projects, and being an open company, we are trying to ensure maximal transparency and information availability for all the stakeholders in all the areas of our activity.”
At the meeting, specialists of Atomenergoproekt JSC (AEP JSC, the general designer, part of Rosatom Engineering Division) demonstrated the experience of operation and development of Russian technologies in the field of small capacity power units both on marine vessels and land-based. Special attention was paid to the specific features of safety systems of large and small power units of Russian design and the layout solutions.
“The safety systems of the combined power plant to be built in Uzbekistan, are based on the long-term experience of accident-free operation of large capacity reactors for land-based NPPs with VVER-type rectors and small reactors for ice breakers with RITM-200 reactors. The high level of NPP safety is based on many factors, the main of which are self-protection principle of the reactor unit, the existence of several safety barriers, active and passive safety systems. Besides, safety culture is in place at NPPs at all the stages of the life cycle – fr om site selection to decommissioning”, said Evgeny Tolstov, Chief Engineer for SNPP and Licensing of Atomenergoproekt JSC.
The participants of the hearing, together with the experts, discussed the safety of the planned facility for the environment and the health of the population; they received answers to all the questions that are of interest to them.
“We live in Kyzylkum Mahalla in Forish district. Upon the results of today’s meeting, we came to the conclusion that the NPP construction will be useful for our Mahalla, for the young people. Our young people will be provided with jobs. The specialists explained to us in detail all the issues regarding hazardous factors, they clarified everything. There is no danger. All the works will be carried out in compliance with the specialists’ requirements. The NPP construction is good for us. In the future, it will certainly be useful for Mahalla, for the people and the population”, said Farhan Shulalaev, member of citizens’ assembly of Mahalla.
The speakers who made presentations and reports at the public hearing
pointed out that the planned facility will implement the up-to-date concept of
safe and reliable source of energy and will not have any negative impact on the
population and the environment.
It is expected that in 2026, the SNPP design will be reviewed by the regulatory authority of the Republic, after which a license for construction of the power units will be granted.
On May 27, 2024, while the Russian
President Vladimir Putin was making a state visit to Uzbekistan, MoM were
signed in the presence of the heads of the Russian and Uzbekistan states, on
amendments to the intergovernmental agreement on the construction of a nuclear
power plant in Uzbekistan. This document envisages the construction both of a
large and small nuclear power plant (SNPP) in Uzbekistan, based on a Russian
design. On September 26, 2025, in Moscow, at the
World Atomic Week international forum, documents were signed to expand
cooperation between State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom and the Atomic
Energy Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan
(Uzatom), which fixed the agreement reached by the leaders of the two
countries. The documents imply that the project would include two
large-capacity power units based on VVER-1000 III+ generation reactors and two
power units equipped with RITM-200N reactors, 55 MW each. The parties also
signed the main terms of contracts for the supply of fuel for small and large
nuclear power plants. It is the first project in the world wh ere small and
large-capacity NPP units will be constructed on one site. In October 2025,
works on the pit development started on the SNPP site. Currently, engineering
survey, design and building of construction and installation base are under
way.
The Engineering Division of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom unites the leading companies of the nuclear industry, namely: Atomstroyexport JSC (Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, branches in Russia and abroad), Joint Design Institute - Atomenergoproekt JSC (Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg branches - design institutes, branches in Russia and abroad, R&D branches) and subsidiary construction organizations.
The Engineering Division ranks first in the world by the order portfolio and the number of NPPs constructed simultaneously across the world. About 80% of the Division’s revenues originate from foreign projects. The Engineering Division implements construction projects for high-power NPPs in Russia and across the world, renders a full range of EPC, EP, EPC(M) services including project management and design activities, and develops Multi-D technologies for the management of complex engineering facilities. The Division relies on the achievements of the Russian nuclear industry and modern cutting-edge technologies. We construct reliable and safe NPPs with Gen III+ VVER reactors that are in line with all international requirements and recommendations. www.ase-ec.ru
SNPPs are one of the most prospective areas of the nuclear industry, all the key players are working on development of their own solutions on the basis of small modular reactors. These solutions are aimed at providing clean electrical power and heat to remote and insular areas, support of development of prospective mineral deposits. State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom possesses reference technology of SNPP construction in both floating and land-based format. Rosatom projects in the field of low capacity NPPs offer a reliable source of power with long-term forecasted tariff for consumers. This makes SNPP technologies desirable for large industrial consumers with responsible approach to selection of power source for their production and areas of operation.
The contract envisages construction of a SNPP in Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan based on the most up-to-date Russian design – water-cooled reactor RITM-200N, which is the result of modification state-of-the-art marine technology RITM-200 for land-based deployment. The design is characterized by compactness, integrated layout and reduced pace of construction compared to large power NPPs. For several years already, RITM-200 reactors have been operating at the newest icebreakers of 22220 project - Arktika, Sibir and Ural, and have demonstrated their efficiency and absolute safety at all the stages of the life cycle.
Preliminary works under the SNPP projects started in summer 2024: the first meeting of the Headquarters for construction took place in June. The meeting outlined the priority tasks whose completion will make it possible to start work in accordance with the schedule. At the end of August 2024, work commenced for establishment of a residential village for builders of the future NPP. This is the first step for traditional comprehensive development of the NPP operation area, which will be followed by implementation of cultural and educational projects, establishment of medical organizations in the region; the residential area will attract people to settle, and industrial companies and commercial companies to operate there.
Russia is one of the world's
leading exporters of nuclear energy technology and goes on to develop
international cooperation in the construction of nuclear power plants,
including personnel training and the transfer of best practices.
