Kyrgyzstan weighs Rosatom's 55 MW icebreaker reactor for small nuclear plant
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Kyrgyzstan's small nuclear power plant project is evaluating a land-based RITM-200N reactor of about 55 MW, the same type used on Russia's Arktika icebreaker, Tazabek reported after visiting Atomflot in Murmansk in early August 2026. The design occupies about eight football fields and uses Generation 3+ passive safety systems. The proposal proceeds even as a former deputy energy minister said capacity should be at least 300 MW.
Project Timeline
Rosatom has proposed a small nuclear station in Kyrgyzstan using the RITM-200N reactor of about 55 MW; the project has been under discussion since January 2022. On 22 November 2022, Rusatom Energy Projects and Kyrgyzstan's Energy Ministry signed a technical assignment for a preliminary feasibility study. Then-energy minister Taalaibek Ibraev said the document could take one to one and a half years to prepare. Former deputy minister Sabyrbek Sultanbekov argued capacity should be at least 300 MW. In June 2023 Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev said Kyrgyzstan would be the first country to build a Russian-made small nuclear plant.
Icebreaker Fleet
A Tazabek correspondent visited Atomflot in Murmansk in early August 2026 and inspected the icebreakers Arktika and 50 Let Pobedy; Russia has eight nuclear icebreakers in service. Arktika, the lead Project 22220 vessel, carries two RITM-200 reactors and 60 MW on its shafts; the ship is 173.3 metres long, 34 metres wide, displaces up to 33,500 tonnes, and has a crew of 53–54. Three other Project 22220 icebreakers are Sibir, Ural, and Yakutiya. The Yamal and 50 Let Pobedy use OK-900A units of 49 MW each, while Taymyr and Vaygach use KLT-40M units of 32.5 MW each.
Safety and Footprint
A land-based small nuclear station with the RITM-200N reactor occupies about eight football fields, compared with 24 for a comparable solar plant, 34 for wind, and 180 for hydro. Rosatom states the reactor has Generation 3+ protection with passive safety systems that can operate without external power, which it presents as the key argument for seismically active areas. A small nuclear plant using this type of reactor is under construction in Yakutia and is scheduled for commissioning in 2028.
What's Next
Kyrgyzstan has not announced a final reactor configuration, feasibility study approval, or construction timeline. It remains unclear whether Rosatom's 55 MW offer can satisfy the earlier 300 MW demand and where financing would come from.
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Kyrgyzstan weighs Rosatom's 55 MW icebreaker reactor for small nuclear plant
