Vucic Says China Involved in Uzbekistan’s Second Nuclear Plant

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — China is involved in the project to build Uzbekistan’s second nuclear power plant, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on 8 September at the Uzbek-Serbian Business Forum in Belgrade, citing a conversation with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Vucic said that during a private conversation with Mirziyoyev on the morning of 8 September, the Uzbek president told him about two nuclear projects — one being implemented with Russia and the second planned with China.

“One nuclear power plant is being built with the Russians, and another plant is being built with the Chinese,” Vucic quoted Mirziyoyev as saying.

The Serbian president’s statement is therefore the first public indication that China is Uzbekistan’s partner in the second nuclear power plant project. Uzbek authorities had previously confirmed preparations for the construction of a second nuclear plant but had not disclosed the partner country.

Vucic linked Uzbekistan’s plans to expected growth in electricity consumption. According to him, Mirziyoyev is assessing the country’s future needs in advance, taking into account the development of data centres, artificial intelligence, innovation and electric vehicles.

The Serbian president praised the Uzbek leader’s approach to energy development and stressed the need to increase generating capacity in advance. In his assessment, European countries also need to take into account growing demand for electricity.

Official parameters of Uzbekistan’s second nuclear project have not yet been disclosed. It is not known where the plant will be located, what its capacity will be, which reactor units it will comprise, how long construction will take or how much the project will cost.

Mirziyoyev publicly spoke about preparations for the construction of a second nuclear power plant on 17 August during a visit to Khorezm region. At the time, the president said that “major preparations” were under way for the project, but did not name a partner for the plant.

Uzbekistan’s first nuclear project is being implemented with Russian participation in Farish district of Jizzakh region. It envisages the construction of two VVER-1000 reactors with a capacity of 1 GW each and two RITM-200N small modular reactors with a capacity of 55 MW each.

The technical launch of the first small reactor is expected in October-November 2029, followed by the second six months later. The first large power unit is scheduled to be commissioned in 2033, while construction of the entire plant is expected to be completed in 2034–2035.

The first nuclear power plant will have a total capacity of 2,110 MW, with annual generation potentially reaching 17 billion kWh. The project’s baseline cost is estimated at no more than US$9.5 billion.

No official details have yet been published about Chinese involvement in the second nuclear project, including the name of the company or partner country, the plant’s technical configuration, capacity or cost.