The country’s energy ministry signed a cooperation document with a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, the ministry said in a statement.
The energy ministry said the document concerns “the preparation of a feasibility study on the construction of a low-power nuclear power plant in Kyrgyzstan”.
The ministry gave no details of what type of reactor technology it is considering or what the schedule for the country’s first commercial nuclear plant might be.
In January Kyrgyzstan expressed an interest in Russia’s progress in developing SMR technology, but said it had not made a decision whether it will push ahead with a project to build one.
Russia’s state news agency Tass said at the time that Rosatom and Kyrgyzstan’s energy ministry signed a memorandum of cooperation that could lead to the construction of RITM-200N SMR units in the central Asian republic.
Tass quoted the government press service as saying that a decision to build and SMR plant in Kyrgyzstan could only be made after “a long and coordinated process involving and environmental safety assessment, a feasibility study, a nationwide discussion, and an institutional review and approval process”.
Nuclear Can Improve Energy Security
“At this stage, Kyrgyzstan has only expressed interest in studying the promising technological development by Russian nuclear scientists based on the RITM-200N reactor,” the ministry said.
The 55-MW RITM-200N is in service powering Russia’s icebreakers. In December 2020 Rosatom announced plans to build a land-based RITM-200N SMR in isolated Ust-Kuyga town in Russia’s republic of Yakutia. Construction is expected to begin in 2024 with planned commissioning by 2028.
The agreement with Kyrgyzstan also plans for the development of nuclear infrastructure in the country and joint work to develop R&D and technical support personnel.
“The construction of a plant like this in Kyrgyzstan will not only improve the country’s energy independence, but also contribute to the public’s quality of life and the development of R&D and technology potential in Central Asia as a whole,” Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom’s director-general said.
Moscow Seeks Influence In Central Asia
According to The Moscow Times, the agreement raises the prospect of Moscow further growing its influence in Central Asia.
The former Soviet republic has remained economically and militarily close to Russia, which accounts for more than a third of the mountainous and landlocked country's imports.
The Moscow Times said Moscow is seeking to maintain its influence in Central Asia in the face of the rise of China, Turkey and Western countries.
The newspaper said Kyrgyzstan faces regular power cuts, with a network that is antiquated in parts, and relies almost exclusively on hydroelectric power plants, plus a handful of coal-fired power stations.
However, due to a growing shortage of water to run the turbines, Kyrgyztsan has begun looking for other energy sources.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have also signalled their willingness to build nuclear power plants in recent months.
