A ceremony has been held to mark the start of excavation work for the foundation pit of Uzbekistan’s first commercial nuclear power plant – a small modular reactor (SMR) forming part of an ‘integrated’ nuclear facility that will be the first of its kind in the world.

Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom said the first stage of construction at the site in the eastern region of Jizzakh includes excavation of a 13-metre-deep foundation pit for the SMR, which will use Russia’s 55-MW RITM-200N reactor technology. About 1.5 million cubic metres of soil will be removed during this phase.