Myanmar has officially made the construction of a nuclear power plant one of the priorities of its five-year energy plan. The announcement came from leader Min Aung Hlaing during his hundred-day government accountability address to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. The project is already underpinned by an intergovernmental agreement signed with Russia — a concrete commitment, not a statement of intent.
The deal was signed on 4 March 2025 in Moscow, during Min Aung Hlaing’s state visit to Russia. The signatories were Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev and Myanmar’s Minister of Science and Technology Myo Thein Kyaw, in the presence of Vladimir Putin. The agreement covers cooperation for the development of a 110 MW SMR, consisting of two 55 MW reactors, with an option to scale up to 330 MW. The technology is based on RITM-200N reactors, the same design adapted for the Uzbek project. This was not the first step: back in February 2023, the two countries had already signed a framework agreement on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Myanmar would thus become the second country in the world to host an export-model Rosatom SMR. The first is Uzbekistan, which has already signed a contract for a six-unit plant in the Jizzakh region. Meanwhile, in Yakutia, Rosatom is preparing to pour the first concrete for a land-based SMR. The Russian company’s export network is expanding rapidly, with similar agreements under discussion with more than twenty African nations. In Southeast Asia, electricity demand is projected to grow sharply, with ASEAN consumption expected to nearly triple by 2050 — from around 1,200 TWh to approximately 4,300 TWh.
The government in Naypyidaw has stated that it currently has ten electricity generation projects underway, including the controversial Myitsone hydropower project, which was suspended for over a decade following environmental protests. Nuclear energy is being pursued alongside coal as a necessary option to meet the country’s growing power needs — a mix that reflects the structural fragility of an electricity system that still leaves large areas underserved. The five-year plan aims to diversify the energy mix and reduce dependence on any single technology.
The SMR project with Rosatom also carries a clear geopolitical message. Myanmar is deepening its strategic partnership with Moscow at a time when the country is largely isolated from the West. For Rosatom, each new agreement strengthens its international standing in a market where demand for compact reactors is rising. If construction timelines are met, Myanmar could have its first nuclear generation capacity online before the end of the decade — a milestone that would reshape the energy map of Southeast Asia.
