Nuclear Fuel Plant to be Built in Mykolaiv Region: Cabinet of Ministers Decision

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has decided to build a complex for the production of nuclear fuel for Ukrainian NPPs in the territory of the South Ukrainian City Territorial Community.

According to Energoatom, the project is aimed at creating a production facility for fuel assemblies used at nuclear power plants. The project will be implemented by Energoatom using Westinghouse Electric Company technology.

In fact, the new facility will be located in the region where the South Ukrainian NPP already operates. This will allow combining fuel production with the existing energy infrastructure.

Before the decision was made, a feasibility study, an environmental impact assessment and a state expert review were conducted, and the documents received positive conclusions. Westinghouse Electric Company also preliminarily assessed the possibility of using Ukrainian production lines to assemble fuel assemblies.

The project was supported at the community level in September 2025. The government made the final decision in March 2026.

The project is expected to have a direct impact on Mykolaiv region, including the creation of new jobs, development of industrial infrastructure, and attraction of investments in the region.

The next stage is to develop detailed project documentation and pass a comprehensive state examination before starting construction.

As previously reported by Intent, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine announced the start of a public discussion of the planned activities of Energoatom JSC on the construction of power units 4 and 5 at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant.

In addition, the South Ukrainian NPP decided to extend the lifetime of the second power unit. According to international standards, there is no clear lifetime for a power unit, which is decided after inspections.

Meanwhile, a two-billion-dollar tender for construction at the South Ukrainian NPP was awarded to a criminal defendant.

The agreement for construction of the South Ukrainian NPP was concluded without a competitive procedure and with a company with a dubious past. The deal was worth more than UAH 2 billion. In 2022, the company was accused of misappropriating budget funds for services for the PSP as well.

Also in Mykolaiv region, a contract for construction in Pivdennoukrainsk worth more than 312 million hryvnias was signed. The contractor was a company that had previously been featured in journalistic investigations for inflated prices.

Андрій Колісніченко