diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 3706aa38b461..2b1792d8ab6f 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ RUN mkdir /opt/ccache && ccache --set-config=cache_dir=/opt/ccache
 ENV PATH /opt/conda/bin:$PATH
 
 FROM dev-base as conda
+ARG PYTHON_VERSION=3.8
 RUN curl -fsSL -v -o ~/miniconda.sh -O  https://repo.anaconda.com/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh  && \
     chmod +x ~/miniconda.sh && \
     ~/miniconda.sh -b -p /opt/conda && \
@@ -49,8 +50,9 @@ RUN --mount=type=cache,target=/opt/ccache \
     python setup.py install
 
 FROM conda as conda-installs
+ARG PYTHON_VERSION=3.8
 ARG INSTALL_CHANNEL=pytorch-nightly
-RUN /opt/conda/bin/conda install -c "${INSTALL_CHANNEL}" -y pytorch torchvision cudatoolkit=11.0.221 && \
+RUN /opt/conda/bin/conda install -c "${INSTALL_CHANNEL}" -y python=${PYTHON_VERSION} pytorch torchvision cudatoolkit=11.0.221 && \
     /opt/conda/bin/conda clean -ya
 RUN /opt/conda/bin/pip install torchelastic