Russia to build a small nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan

MOSCOW: Russia and Uzbekistan signed an accord Monday for Moscow to build a small nuclear power plant in the Central Asian country, as Russian Preside...

MOSCOW: Russia and Uzbekistan signed an accord Monday for Moscow to build a small nuclear power plant in the Central Asian country, as Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Uzbek capital with Uzbekistan leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Mirziyoyev hailed the project as "vital” in remarks after the talks, noting that Uzbekistan has "its own large reserves of uranium.” Putin, in turn, vowed to "do everything in order to work effectively on Uzbekistan's (nuclear energy) market.”

If the agreement is implemented, the plant would become the first in Central Asia, further increasing Russia's influence in the region.

Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti quoted the Russian state-owned energy corporation, Rosatom, as saying that the project envisions building six reactors with the total capacity of 330 megawatts. According to Russian media, the two countries were earlier discussing building a nuclear power plant of a larger capacity - of 2.4 gigawatts.