Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbekistan and Russia continue to discuss a project for the construction of a nuclear power plant on the territory of the republic. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov in an interview with Russian media.

“By mutual agreement, this issue is being discussed. Today, a thorough study of the project is underway, and in several directions,” he said.

“First of all, we proceed from the assumption that this is a purely economic project. There can be no political prejudices or political preferences here. Why do we emphasize this? Because there were various speculations around the project in various media,” Kamilov said.

“We confirm that the project is beyond any politics, it is purely economic in nature. Accordingly, a clear economic justification is needed, and the economic feasibility of the project must be proven. This is especially true against the background of the dynamic development of alternative energy sources in Uzbekistan. Our country, for example, has a package of proposals, moreover, direct investments for the development of solar energy, hydropower, wind and others. In addition, we do not forget the security issues in accordance with the IAEA standards,” said the head of the Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan.

“Another, no less important, sensitive issue: this is a high-tech and large-scale project, which cannot be out of sight of the public, cannot but be opaque. Therefore, of course, we will study the attitude of the public to this issue not only in Uzbekistan, but also in neighboring states that have common borders with our country,” added Abdulaziz Kamilov.

“Thus, we will continue to explore these issues. The work is certainly underway. But everything will depend on those answers to the above questions. Based on this, the final decision will be made whether to implement the project or not,” he added.

Earlier, it was reported that Uzbekistan and Russia agreed to build a nuclear power plant (NPP) in the republic.

In 2019, the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved the Concept for the development of nuclear energy for the period 2019-2029.

According to the concept, the project for the construction of a nuclear power plant will be implemented in three stages.

In 2019-2020, it was planned to carry out site selection and licensing of placement. In the second stage (2020-2022), it is planned to design the nuclear power plant and its external infrastructure. The construction and commissioning of the nuclear power plant will be carried out in 2022-2030.

The project will be financed from Uzbekistan’s own funds and a government loan from Russia.

The concept notes that external infrastructure facilities will be created at the expense of the State Budget, the Nuclear Energy Development Fund, investors’ funds and other sources.

Uzbekistan also plans to create a nuclear infrastructure. This initiative will be financed by a Russian loan. Russia will provide assistance in training personnel and improving their qualifications.

Within the framework of the project, two generation III + power units with an installed capacity of 1.2 GW each will be built.

The construction of a nuclear power plant will allow Uzbekistan to meet the growing needs of the Uzbek economy in energy. It is expected that by 2030 the demand of the Uzbek economy for electricity will be 117 billion kWh per year.