Baku, Azerbaijan, May 31
By Fakhri Vakilov – Trend:
The site near the Tuzkan Aydar-Arnasay lakes system in the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan has been identified as a priority site for the placement of a nuclear power plant, Trend reports with reference to the press service of Uzatom agency.
From August 2018 to March 2019, the first stage of integrated engineering and survey work at potential NPP sites was conducted at four sites in the Navoi and Bukhara regions near the Tudakul reservoir and three sites in the Jizzakh region, near Lake Tuzkan.
Today, the second stage of engineering and exploration work for licensing and approval of the selected site continues.
To speed up the launch of the project, on May 17 a contract was signed with Atomstroyexport, a member of the engineering division of the Russian Rosatom Corporation, to carry out engineering and survey work for the development of a technical project.
The contract for the construction of nuclear power plants is planned to conclude by the end of the year. In this case, the construction itself will begin in 2022. The project will be financed at the expense of own funds of Uzbekistan and the state loan of Russia.
The NPP will consist of two VVER-1200 “3+” generation units with a capacity of 1200 MW each, which meet all the safety requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency. After its introduction, Uzbekistan will be able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere to 14 million tons and nitrogen oxides by 36,000 tons.
As a result of the launch of the station, Uzbekistan will annually save 3.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Even exporting the saved gas without processing it, the country will receive $550-$600 million a year.
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