A national referendum on the construction of the NPP in Kazakhstan may be held in the fall
The government of Kazakhstan has decided to hold a national referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant on the shores of Lake Balkhash. The referendum will be held approximately this autumn. "The country has almost completed the full cycle of nuclear fuel production and has experience with small reactors. There are necessary personnel, specialists are being trained constantly," said the country's prime minister, Oljas Bektenov.
The government of Kazakhstan has decided to hold a national referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP) on the shores of Lake Balkhash.
The Prime Minister of the Republic, Oljas Bektenov, instructed the Presidential Administration to submit the draft decision on holding a referendum. He will also have to announce the exact date of the referendum . The referendum is tentatively scheduled for the fall of this year.
"The country has almost completed the full cycle of nuclear fuel production and has experience with small reactors. Necessary personnel are available, experts are constantly being trained, " Bektenov said.
Discussions about the need to hold a referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan began a year ago. President Kasim-Jomart Tokaev made such a proposal for the first time in September 2023. The politician noted that the republic has the largest uranium reserves in the world, so it needs to create its own nuclear generation.
The head of Kazakhstan justified the need to hold a referendum by the fact that the country remembers the tragic legacy of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. During the USSR, from 1949 to 1989, at least 468 nuclear tests, including underground and atmospheric explosions, were conducted at the landfill. One of the first decisions of the first president of the republic, Nursultan Nazarboev, was to close the landfill and reclamation of its territory.
Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant is planned to be built on the shores of Lake Balkhash. The cost of construction is estimated at 10-15 billion dollars, if the people of the republic support this initiative, then it will be known who will build the station.
On August 27-28, the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan plans to openly discuss the readiness of Kazakhstan's nuclear industry for the construction of nuclear power plants at the " KazAtomExpo " exhibition. Russian nuclear corporation "Rosatom", as well as large nuclear companies of China (China National Nuclear Corporation), South Korea (Korea Hydro&Nuslear Pover So), France (Elestrisit de France) will participate in the event.
