Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to develop emergency response plan for NPPs
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to develop joint response mechanisms for emergencies at nuclear power plants (NPPs). The countries also plan to monitor the nuclear and environmental situation in the region, as reported by Uzbekistan’s nuclear agency Uzatom.
The Kazakhstani delegation met with Uzbek officials on Aug. 18 at Uzatom headquarters. Kazakhstan was represented by Zhomart Aliyev, vice minister of ecology and natural resources, whereas the Uzbek delegation included managers and specialists from Uzatom, the Directorate for the Construction of Nuclear Power Plants as well as representatives of authorized ministries.
The parties discussed key areas of cooperation in the nuclear field, including safety issues and the earthquake resistance of NPP construction sites. They also emphasized the need to develop prompt response mechanisms for possible accidents.
«The goal of our visit is to discuss the challenges you are facing in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes. We understand that, to some extent, we are moving forward in parallel. In this context, what matters is a constructive approach and the exchange of experience,» Aliyev noted.
In turn, Azim Akhmedkhadjaev, head of Uzatom, welcomed the fact that Kazakhstan had begun engineering surveys for the NPP project. According to him, Uzbekistan is currently at the same stage.
Moreover, the discussions also covered personnel training in the nuclear field. For example, the two sides reviewed plans to implement joint educational programs at the Tashkent branch of Russia’s National Research Nuclear University MEPhI and further develop human resources. Notably, Rosatom recently announced that its Technical Academy will train around 2,000 specialists to operate Kazakhstan’s first NPP.
In Uzbekistan, Rosatom is set to build two nuclear power plants — a large 2-gigawatt facility and a smaller one with a capacity of 110 megawatts. In Kazakhstan, the Russian corporation is leading the consortium for the country’s first NPP, while China’s CNNC has been named lead contractor for the second and third projects.
