Energy / Uzbekistan / SMRs / Rosatom / industrial firm power
Uzbekistan’s Second Nuclear-Plant Signal: SMR Ambition Before First Reactor Runs
The useful headline is not that Uzbekistan has approved, financed and selected a second nuclear plant. The source-backed headline is narrower: regional reporting says President Shavkat Mirziyoyev told an August 17 Khorezm investment-project event that Uzbekistan is undertaking extensive preparations for a second nuclear power plant, while the country’s first integrated nuclear project is still under construction.
That belongs in the Energy watch because the first Uzbek project is not only a conventional large-reactor story. Reporting and official context describe an integrated site combining two large VVER-1000 units with two 55-MW RITM-200N small modular reactors. In other words: the SMR/advanced-nuclear narrative is already moving through energy-security and industrial-development politics before an operating record exists.
What changed
Gazeta.uz and Times of Central Asia report that Mirziyoyev said preparations are underway for a second NPP. No site, capacity, timetable, cost or technology partner has been announced.
Official anchor
President.uz confirms the August 17 Khorezm project event and confirms the June 4 launch of construction of the first integrated NPP power unit with Russia and IAEA participation.
SMR relevance
The first project is reported to include two RITM-200N SMR units alongside two VVER-1000 units, making schedule, regulator, fuel and infrastructure readiness the real gates.
The factual anchors
- Gazeta.uz reports that on August 17, during a Khorezm ceremony tied to new investment projects, Mirziyoyev said Uzbekistan was making “extensive preparations” for a second nuclear power plant.
- The same article says the second plant’s location, capacity and timeline have not yet been disclosed.
- President.uz’s official Khorezm page confirms the surrounding event: 12 projects worth $176 million were commissioned and construction of 15 new facilities worth $7.424 billion was launched.
- President.uz says Mirziyoyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin launched construction of the first power unit of an integrated NPP in Uzbekistan on June 4, 2026, with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi attending by video conference.
- Gazeta.uz reports the first project configuration as two VVER-1000 reactor units and two 55-MW RITM-200N SMR units at one site, with first SMR technical launch targeted for late 2029 and later milestones extending into 2034–2035.
Why it matters
Uzbekistan’s nuclear push is a clean example of what “firm power” demand looks like outside the North American data-centre debate. The public explanation is industrial: investors want reliable electricity, predictable prices and operating guarantees. That is the same basic pressure showing up in mines, ports, AI campuses and energy-intensive manufacturing elsewhere.
The disciplined read is that nuclear is being used as a state-development and investor-confidence tool before the first plant has proven construction schedule, regulatory capacity, fuel logistics, public-safety systems and operating performance. That does not make the plan fake. It means the proof has to move gate by gate.
What would confirm the story
- An official second-plant decree, feasibility-study notice or tender.
- A named site, capacity, reactor technology and financing structure.
- Regulator/IAEA infrastructure milestones, emergency-planning updates and workforce plans.
- Public information on fuel supply, spent-fuel handling, grid integration and construction schedule.
- A clear answer on whether the second plant repeats the Russia/Rosatom model or invites other partners.
Cautions
The second-plant statement is reported by Gazeta.uz and Times of Central Asia from the president’s August 17 remarks. The official President.uz event page captured today confirms the event and investment-project package, but I did not locate a separate official transcript/page containing the exact second-NPP sentence before publication.
Do not overclaim this as a construction start, procurement award, IAEA approval, financing close, technology selection, reactor licence or evidence that the first SMR units will hit their target dates. The first NPP is itself still a construction and infrastructure-readiness story.
Not investment advice: this source card is an infrastructure and evidence note. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold uranium miners, reactor vendors, fuel-cycle companies, utilities, nuclear-service firms, Russia-linked suppliers, data-centre power stocks or related securities.
Primary and reporting sources
- Gazeta.uz — Uzbekistan prepares for second nuclear power plant project — president (reporting, August 20, 2026).
- The Times of Central Asia — Uzbekistan Plans Second Nuclear Power Plant Before First Is Ready (reporting, August 21, 2026).
- President.uz — 12 projects worth $176 million commissioned in Khorezm region (official event context, August 17, 2026).
- President.uz — Presidents of Uzbekistan and Russia launch construction of the first power unit of a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan (official first-NPP anchor, June 4, 2026).
- IAEA — Reviews Progress of Uzbekistan’s Nuclear Power Infrastructure Development (official infrastructure-review context; terminal fetch was blocked by anti-bot protection, trade capture saved in source package).
- Managing Expectations source note and checked leads.