Rosatom begins manufacturing reactor for Uzbekistan’s first small nuclear plant

According to a statement from Rosatom’s press service, “Rosatom has begun manufacturing reactor equipment for the first unit of the low-capacity nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan.”

The corporation’s plant in Saint Petersburg has poured the first steel casting weighing 205 tons for the RITM-200N reactor unit.

“Steel casting marks the beginning of the nuclear reactor manufacturing process,” Rosatom added.

As previously reported, under the agreement signed between Uzbekistan and Russia on May 27, 2024, construction is planned for a small-scale nuclear power plant in the Jizzakh district. The plant will consist of six reactors, each with a capacity of 55 MW, totaling 330 MW.

The station will be based on the RITM-200N model, a land-based adaptation of the RITM-200 pressurized water nuclear reactors currently used in nuclear-powered icebreakers. However, this technology has not yet been implemented on land. The project's estimated cost is not expected to exceed $2 billion, with financing largely sourced from external loans.

According to a previous statement from Uzatom, the first reactor of the nuclear plant is scheduled to be commissioned five years after the start of construction.

In April of this year, construction began on the installation and assembly base and supporting buildings for the SMR project featuring the RITM-200N reactor in the Jizzakh district.