The groundbreaking ceremony of Uzbekistan's first nuclear power plant will be held on Friday, Oct. 19, the Kremlin announced on Tuesday.
During his visit to Uzbekistan on Oct. 18-19, Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Russian-designed plant via video linkup along with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev, according to a Russian presidency announcement. The project cost is estimated at around $11 billion and commissioning of its first unit is expected in 2028, the aide of Russian President Yuri Ushakov confirmed, according to Russian state-owned news agency TASS.
Russian State Nuclear Energy Agency Rosatom will build the plant comprising two units, each of which has a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, in the area near Lake Tudakul on the border of Navoi and Bukhara regions.
"The Russian side is ready to ensure reliability and safety of the plant under construction and engage Uzbekistani entities in construction," he added.
According to official figures, Uzbekistan meets 85 percent of its electricity from gas and coal, while the remaining share is generated through hydropower. According to the Uzbek government's projections, with the launch of the plant the country will save 3.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas on an annual basis.
Russia and Uzbekistan's prime ministers signed the intergovernmental agreement on cooperation for the construction of the plant in September. Earlier, on Dec. 29, 2017, the countries also signed a cooperation agreement to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
(Anadolu Agency)
