Vucic announced China's participation in Uzbekistan's second nuclear power plant
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that Uzbekistan is implementing a second nuclear project jointly with China, but the details of the nuclear power plant have not yet been disclosed.
Vučić Announced China's Participation in Uzbekistan's Second NPP Project
China, as stated by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, is involved in the project to build Uzbekistan's second nuclear power plant. The Serbian leader said this on September 8 at the Uzbek-Serbian business forum in Belgrade, citing a conversation with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Vučić said that during a personal conversation on the morning of September 8, Mirziyoyev informed him about two nuclear projects — one is being implemented with Russia, and the second is planned to be carried out with China.
"They are doing one nuclear plant with the Russians, and they are doing another plant with the Chinese," Vučić quoted the President of Uzbekistan as saying.
Thus, the statement by the head of Serbia became the first public indication of China as Uzbekistan's partner in the second NPP project. Previously, the Uzbek authorities had confirmed preparations for the construction of a second nuclear plant, but did not name the partner country.
Vučić linked Uzbekistan's plans to the 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 centers, artificial intelligence, innovations, and electric vehicles.
The Serbian president noted the Uzbek leader's approach to energy development and stressed the need to increase generating capacity well in advance. In his assessment, European countries should also take into account the growing demand for electricity.
The official parameters of Uzbekistan's second nuclear project have not yet been disclosed. It has not been reported where the plant will be located, what capacity it will have, what power units it will consist of, how long the construction will take, and how much the project will cost.
Mirziyoyev spoke publicly about the preparations for the construction of the second NPP on August 17 during a trip to the Khorezm region. At that time, the president stated that "major preparations" were underway in the country to implement the project, but the partner for the plant was not named.
Uzbekistan is implementing its first nuclear project with the participation of Russia in the Farish district of the Jizzakh region. It provides for 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, and the second one six months later. The first large power unit is planned to be launched in 2033, and the construction of the plant is to be fully completed in 2034–2035.
The total capacity of the first NPP will be 2110 MW, and the annual output could reach 17 billion kWh. The base cost of the project is estimated at no more than $9.5 billion.
At the same time, no official details about Chinese participation in the second nuclear project — including the name of the company or partner state, the technical configuration of the plant, its capacity, and cost — have been published yet.