Roszatom is building new nuclear power stations in two Asian countries

Roszatom is building new nuclear power stations in both Vietnam and Uzbekistan, according to statements from the Russian state-owned nuclear energy company. As part of the former project, a Russian–Vietnamese intergovernmental agreement was signed in Moscow regarding the construction of the Ninh Thuan-1 nuclear power station.

According to the announcement, the plant will be Vietnam’s first nuclear power station.

The two parties had already signed a contract for the project back in 2010, but Vietnam suspended the plan in 2016.

A research centre equipped with a research reactor is also being built

The Vietnamese project envisages the construction of two units equipped with Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors, with a total capacity of 2,400 MW.

The facility’s reference project is the first two units of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant II.

In addition to the Ninh Thuan-1 nuclear power plant project, the parties will also construct the Vietnam Nuclear Science and Technology Centre, which will include a new Russian-designed research reactor.

In the combined solution, separate units meet the demand during peak periods

Meanwhile, in Uzbekistan, the country’s first nuclear power plant project has reached another milestone: a cooperation roadmap between Roszatom and Uzatom, as well as an addendum to the construction contract, were signed in Tashkent. The project envisages an integrated power plant comprising two high-power Generation III+ VVER-1000 reactor units, alongside two RITM-200N small modular reactors, each with a capacity of 55 MW.

A key feature of this combination is that the high-capacity units enable the base load to be met, whilst the low-capacity units help to meet peak-time demand. The shared power station infrastructure, which is used jointly by both types of unit, allows for the efficient use of resources during both construction and operation.

The concrete work has already begun

Over its entire operational lifetime, the facility is expected to generate around 17.2 billion kWh of electricity annually, which could cover approximately 14 per cent of Uzbekistan’s current energy consumption.

Preparations for the project are already underway: concrete works have begun at the construction site in the Faris district of the Jizzakh region, where RITM-200N nuclear power plant units are to be built. As part of the ground levelling work, 900 cubic metres of concrete are being poured in preparation for the first concrete pour. The first batch of concrete will be poured into the reactor building’s foundation after the waterproofing, the completion of the formwork concrete, and the reinforcement installation work.