BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5. President of
Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Russia Vladimir
Putin have officially authorized the commencement of construction
works for the first power unit of Uzbekistan's landmark integrated
nuclear power plant (NPP), Trend reports via the press service of the Uzbek
president.


During the launch ceremony, held via a live video conference
between St. Petersburg and the construction site in the Farshinsky
District of the Jizzakh Region in Uzbekistan, a symbolic pouring of
the first concrete into the foundation slab of the future reactor
building took place. The high-level briefing was attended by Rafael
Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), alongside senior nuclear industry officials from both
nations.


Addressing the participants, President Mirziyoyev expressed deep
gratitude to both Vladimir Putin and Rafael Grossi for their
consistent personal support and operational oversight of the
strategic energy project. The Uzbek leader also extended high
commendations to the joint engineering teams and technical
specialists from Uzbekistan and Russia for their profound
professionalism.


"The implementation of this project marks the beginning of a
transformative new era in Uzbekistan's technological, industrial,
and scientific development, laying the foundation for an entirely
new economic branch - nuclear energy," Mirziyoyev emphasized during
the teleconference.







The state-of-the-art facility features a unique integrated
blueprint, combining the latest advancements in small modular
reactor (SMR) generation with large-scale baseload power
generation. The project configuration encompasses two
large-capacity Generation 3+ VVER-1000 reactors and power units
equipped with RITM-200N reactors.


President Mirziyoyev underscored that radiation and operational
safety remain absolute and unconditional priorities for the
republic. Accordingly, the construction phases and subsequent
operational preparations are being executed in strict compliance
with advanced international safety benchmarks and cutting-edge
engineering solutions, all under the continuous monitoring and
verification of the IAEA. The leadership expressed firm confidence
that the realization of this large-scale initiative will
comprehensively strengthen the strategic partnership and alliance
between Uzbekistan and Russia.