President Shavkat Mirziyoyev inspected the progress of construction of a nuclear power plant in the Jizzakh region.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev inspected the progress of construction of an integrated nuclear power plant and an accompanying modern satellite city in the Jizzakh region.

The nuclear power plant project entered the active construction phase on June 4 of this year. Excavation for the reactor building pit has been completed, with the volume of excavated soil exceeding 1 million cubic meters. 916 cubic meters of concrete have been poured into the foundation slab. Excavation work has been completed on an area of 100 hectares at the construction and installation base.

Currently, 450 workers and specialists, as well as over 100 pieces of specialized equipment, are involved at the construction site.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $9.5 billion. Approximately 3,000 products and equipment are planned to be used in the construction process.

According to preliminary estimates, the share of local production in the project is 21 percent, or $1.9 billion. The head of state expressed dissatisfaction with this figure.

The goal is to increase the share of domestic production in the project to at least 30 percent, ensure that 65 percent of construction and installation work is performed by national enterprises, and attract 7,000 local workers and specialists.

To achieve these goals, it is proposed to create a 200-hectare industrial zone in the Farish district specializing in the production of building materials. It is planned to accommodate at least 100 joint ventures and localize production in 15 areas through technology transfer.

The President approved this proposal and instructed that a draft resolution on providing tax and customs benefits to industrial zone participants be submitted by the end of the year.

It was particularly emphasized that construction quality and safety must be an absolute priority, and all work must fully comply with IAEA requirements and international standards.

At the presentation, it was noted that a comprehensive IAEA assessment mission was conducted from June 22 to 26 of this year, which resulted in a high rating for the development of Uzbekistan's national nuclear infrastructure.

The station's external engineering infrastructure will include the construction of 388 kilometers of electrical grids, a 110-kilovolt substation, 21 kilometers of drinking water pipelines, 120 kilometers of industrial water supply pipelines, 39.5 kilometers of roads, and 11 kilometers of railways.

The head of state emphasized the need to ensure that the share of local products and services in the construction of these facilities reaches 60-70 percent.