IAEA to help Uzbekistan join international nuclear safety treaties
TASHKENT. March 6 (Interfax) - Uzbekistan's Atomic Energy Agency (Uzatom) Director Azim Akhmedkhadjaev and Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi during a meeting on March 5 in Vienna discussed the matter of Uzbekistan's accession to international legal documents in the area of nuclear safety, Uzatom's press service said.
"The IAEA expressed its readiness to send a group of international lawyers to assist in the implementation of international obligations and the adaptation of legislation to modern requirements," the press service said.
The press service said that special attention at the meeting was paid to the projects and initiatives of the Uzbek side in the area of radiation and isotope technologies.
Additionally, a proposal was discussed to organize a school on small modular reactors in the Tashkent branch of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in order to improve the qualifications of specialists, the press service said.
Following the meeting, Grossi positively assessed the strategic initiatives of Uzbekistan in the area of nuclear energy and nuclear technologies, noting their prospects, and he confirmed the status of Uzbekistan as a key partner of the IAEA in the region, the press service said.
Uzbekistan plans to build the country's first nuclear power plant.
JSC Atomstroyexport, the engineering division of Rosatom state nuclear energy corporation, and Uzbekistan's State Unitary Enterprise Directorate for Construction of Nuclear Power Plants under the Agency for Atomic Energy under the Cabinet of Ministers in May 2024 signed a contract on construction a small-capacity nuclear power plant (SNPP). The project envisages constructing a SNPP in the Jizzakh Region based on a Russian design with capacity of 330 MW, totaling six reactors with capacity of 55 MW each. Rosatom will act as the general contractor for the construction of the station, and local companies will also be involved in the construction.
Uzatom and Atomstroyexport in early September signed a protocol on commencing work at the construction site of the future station. Uzatom intends to obtain permission in early 2026 for the construction. Commissioning the facilities is planned in stages from 2029 to 2033.
