Uzbekistan is discussing with the Russian corporation Rosatom the optimization of the cost of nuclear power plant, the Deputy Minister of Energy Sherzod Khodjaev said at a press briefing.

“As for the construction of nuclear power plants. Again, we return to the question of how economically feasible this is. On the one hand, the project is very interesting in that it reduces dependence on fossil fuels. Unlike solar and wind generation, it gives fairly high guarantees for stable generation [of electricity]. On the other hand, it should be noted that purely economically, this project is very much inferior to other types of generation,” he said.

According to him, the Uzbek authorities are now discussing how much it is possible to reduce the cost of the nuclear power plant project in order to ultimately reduce the cost per unit of output.

“That is, in simple terms, how much will the energy produced at this nuclear power plant cost us? Will it be competitive compared to other sources? If not, then the conclusion is obvious. If yes, then this is what we should implement,” he said.

Sherzod Khodjaev noted that from the very beginning, Rosatom corporation was chosen as the prospective strategic partner of Uzbekistan for this project, with which some studies and surveys were carried out. In particular, a potential site has been identified, but "there are certain nuances."

According to him, Uzbekistan continues to work with Rosatom on the issue of optimizing the cost of the project, that is, "this cooperation did not stop."

Sherzod Khodjaev noted that there are many people who want to build a nuclear power plant, but when choosing a partner, it is necessary to take into account not only the factor of building the plant, but also its operation for 50-60 years, as well as decommissioning.

“Uzbekistan, being a country with quite serious problems in terms of logistics, that is, we have certain restrictions on logistics, must take this factor into account. There are a lot of people who want to build such a station. But, if you look at the 50-60-year perspective, then you need to think about how to supply fuel for the station and how to dispose of waste,” he said.