Uzbekistan has spent decades inside the global nuclear economy without generating nuclear electricity. The country is a major uranium producer, operates nuclear research facilities, and has trained specialists in radiation science, but its power system still depends heavily on natural gas. That position is changing. Uzbekistan has started developing its first nuclear power plant in the Jizzakh region, using a combined design that places small modular reactors and large conventional units on one site.
The project is intended to do more than add generating capacity. It is an attempt to convert Uzbekistan’s mineral resources and scientific experience into a wider nuclear industry. It also responds to rising electricity demand, ageing infrastructure, rapid renewable development, and the government’s desire to use less natural gas in power generation.
Jizzakh Will Combine Small and Large Nuclear Reactors
Uzbekistan’s nuclear plans have changed as the government refined the size and purpose of its first plant. An earlier proposal focused on two large Russian VVER-1200 reactors. In 2024, Uzbekistan instead signed a contract with Rosatom for six RITM-200N small modular reactors, each rated at about 55 MW.
The project later developed into a hybrid nuclear complex. The planned Jizzakh plant is now expected to include two RITM-200N small reactors and two VVER-1000 large reactors. Together, the four units would provide about 2.1 GW of generating capacity. The smaller units are intended to enter service first, while the large reactors would supply most of the plant’s long-term output.
Preparatory work began in 2025, including auxiliary construction, site development, and excavation for the small-reactor buildings. Uzbekistan and Russia formally marked the launch of construction in June 2026. Current schedules place the first small unit near the end of the decade, while the two large reactors are expected during the 2030s. Government projections indicate that the completed complex could generate more than 15 billion kWh of electricity per year by 2035.[1]
Using two reactor sizes makes Uzbekistan’s project unusual. Large VVER units are designed to provide continuous baseload electricity, while the RITM-200N units create an earlier route into nuclear operations. This arrangement may allow Uzbekistan to build regulatory and workforce experience before all four units are operating.
Nuclear Power Supports a Fast-Growing Electricity System
Uzbekistan generated almost 85 billion kWh of electricity in 2025, and official forecasts place national consumption at around 121 billion kWh by 2035.[2] Population growth, industrial development, urban expansion, and rising household use are placing greater pressure on the power system.
Natural gas has historically supplied most of Uzbekistan’s electricity. This gave the country a domestic energy advantage, but it also tied power generation to a fuel needed for heating, industry, petrochemicals, and exports. Gas production has not expanded as quickly as domestic demand, while winter shortages have exposed weaknesses in the existing system.
Nuclear generation is intended to reduce that pressure. A completed 2.1 GW plant would provide a large source of electricity without consuming gas and could operate through winter demand peaks. It would also diversify a system that has traditionally relied on thermal power stations.
Uzbekistan is expanding solar, wind, hydropower, and battery storage at the same time. Nuclear energy is therefore being developed alongside renewable power rather than as a replacement for it. The large reactors would provide stable output, while storage, interconnections, and flexible generation could help the grid manage changes in demand and renewable supply.
Uranium Gives Uzbekistan an Industrial Starting Point
Uzbekistan enters nuclear power development with an advantage that many newcomer countries do not possess: an established uranium industry. Mining began during the Soviet period, and the country remains one of the world’s important uranium suppliers. Annual production exceeds 3,500 tonnes, and the government has set a target of increasing output to 7,100 tonnes by 2030.[3]
Most Uzbek uranium is produced through in-situ leaching, which extracts uranium-bearing material by circulating solutions through underground deposits. The state company Navoiyuran operates across the central Kyzylkum region and continues to expand exploration and production.
Uranium production does not mean Uzbekistan has a complete domestic nuclear fuel cycle. Mining is only the first stage. Conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication, reactor operation, spent-fuel management, and waste disposal require separate technologies and institutions. Uzbekistan signed an agreement with Rosatom in 2025 for fuel supply to the planned reactors, so the first plant will remain closely connected to Russian nuclear technology and services.[3]
The country does have a scientific base. The Institute of Nuclear Physics near Tashkent operates the WWR-SM research reactor, which has supported research, isotope production, and specialist training for decades. Uzbekistan also uses nuclear technologies in medicine, agriculture, and industry. This experience is useful, although commercial reactor operation requires a much larger system of oversight and technical capability.
Training a Nuclear Workforce
A first nuclear power plant cannot depend only on imported equipment. Uzbekistan must develop operators, engineers, regulators, emergency-response teams, construction specialists, security personnel, and waste-management expertise.
The Tashkent branch of Russia’s National Research Nuclear University MEPhI has become a major training center for the program. An advanced nuclear engineering school was established there in 2025, and the government expects more than 300 nuclear specialists to be trained by 2030. Uzbek institutions are also cooperating with Rosatom, the Kurchatov Institute, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.[4]
The Jizzakh project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs and more than 2,000 permanent skilled positions once fully operational. Its broader economic effect will depend on how much local industry can participate in civil works, electrical systems, materials, maintenance, and supporting services. Major reactor components will come from Russia, but local-content development could determine whether the plant becomes the center of a broader Uzbek nuclear sector.
Regulation Will Determine Whether the Program Is Durable
Uzbekistan’s main challenge is the complexity of becoming a nuclear operating country. A credible program requires an independent regulator, complete nuclear legislation, emergency planning, environmental review, physical security, safeguards, liability rules, and long-term arrangements for radioactive waste and spent fuel.
An IAEA infrastructure review in 2021 found strong government support and progress in project preparation, while also identifying work needed in legal frameworks, regulatory resources, environmental assessment, stakeholder engagement, and construction management.[5] Uzbekistan has since joined additional international conventions covering nuclear safety, accident notification, emergency assistance, and civil liability.[6]
Site conditions will also remain important. The plant is being developed in the Forish district near the Aydar-Arnasay lake system, making water management and environmental assessment important parts of the design. Seismic conditions, cooling requirements, grid connections, and effects on nearby communities must be addressed throughout licensing and construction.
Cost and schedule control will provide another test. The hybrid design may allow Uzbekistan to gain experience gradually, but it also creates a complex project involving two reactor types and different construction schedules. Clear information on financing, waste responsibilities, operating costs, and milestones will become increasingly important as work advances.
Uzbekistan Is Building More Than Its First Reactor
Uzbekistan’s nuclear program is moving from policy development into physical construction. The Jizzakh project would make the country the first in post-Soviet Central Asia to commission a new commercial nuclear power plant and one of the first markets to deploy Russia’s land-based RITM-200N design.
Its importance lies in the connection between uranium, electricity, and industrial policy. Uzbekistan already supplies raw material to the international nuclear market. It now wants nuclear energy to support power security, conserve natural gas, complement renewable generation, and create a more technically advanced energy sector.
The final outcome will depend less on the visibility of construction than on whether Uzbekistan builds the regulatory, financial, and human systems required to support the reactors for many decades.
