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Uzbekistan's preparations to build its first nuclear power plant are gathering pace with a sense of making up for lost time. The Central Asian country became a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency as long ago as 1994, has 50 years of experience in nuclear research and is the world's fifth biggest producer of uranium.

Energy ministers from across Central Asia today committed their countries to collaborating on meeting the United Nations' seventh Sustainable Development Goal, which pledges 'affordable and clean energy' by 2030. The meeting is the first time they have come together to discuss the region's common energy challenges.

French Orano has signed a partnership agreement with Uzbekistan's State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources to develop uranium mining activities in the Central Asian country. They plan to create a joint venture in the coming months, with 51% held by Orano and 49% held by GoscomGeo.

Uzbekistan has decided it now wants to build four nuclear power units and not just two as previously stated, Alisher Sultanov, the country's energy minister, said in an interview with news agency Kun.uz this week.

Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear corporation, and UzAtom, Uzbekistan's nuclear development agency, have signed a contract to perform engineering surveys for the Central Asian country's first nuclear power plant.

Uzbekistan has initiated the process to choose a site for its first nuclear power plant and aims to grant a site licence in September 2020, local officials have confirmed to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Uzbekistan is among about 30 countries that are considering, planning or actively working to include nuclear power into their energy mix.

Rosatom expects a site to be selected for Uzbekistan's first nuclear power plant by the end of March and a construction contract to be signed by the end of this year.

Many observers were surprised this year when Uzbekistan announced its decision to build a nuclear power station, which will be the first in Central Asia in the last 30 years, writes Jurabek Mirzakhmudov, director general of UzAtom, the state nuclear agency which was established in July.

The legislative chamber of Uzbekistan’s parliament met with a delegation from Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom on 18 December and discussed the Central Asian country’s plan to build its first nuclear power plant.

The international community has raised additional funds to support efforts to overcome the legacy of uranium mining in Central Asia. Remediation work will start in 2019 at four sites in the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan.

Vladimir Putin has this week discussed plans to build Egypt and Uzbekistan’s first nuclear power plants with his counterparts in those countries, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission has identified areas for improvement in the operation and maintenance of Uzbekistan's only operating research reactor. The team also addressed specific operational challenges faced by the WWR-SM.