In October 2024, Kazakhstan voted in a country-wide referendum, at which more than 71 percent of the republic’s citizens supported the idea of the country’s President Kassym Tokayev to build the first Kazakh nuclear power plant since Soviet times in the village of Ulken, on the shore of Lake Balkhash, with two 1.2 GW reactor units, which, according to experts, should cover the growing needs of the republic’s industry in electricity by the end of the decade. Since then, the republic had begun an active phase of searching for potential project constructors. In accordance with the rules of the IAEA, Astana has shortlisted four potential contractors. In addition to Rosatom, Kazakhs expressed interested in the French company Électricité de France, the South Korean company Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and the Chinese China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).
A particular difficulty in choosing contractors was the prerequisite put forward by President Tokayev that an international consortium should become the executor of the nuclear project. However, all these companies have never participated in the construction of nuclear power plants as part of any international consortia, since they use only their proven technologies and competencies in the construction of nuclear power plants. In addition, Chinese and Korean companies do not have technologies for processing irradiated fuels. Only Rosatom has all the competencies to create a full-cycle nuclear power plant, including the processing of irradiated fuel.
Based on the methodology developed by The Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency (KAEA), an integrated assessment of the submitted reactor technologies and other proposals from potential contractors was carried out, including on such parameters as NPP safety, technological and financial aspects, international experience, personnel training, localization level, etc.
As the result, on June 14, KAEA announced that it has chosen the Russian Rosatom state atomic energy corporation as the leader of the international consortium for the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant, adding that the nuclear power plant will be built on the basis of Russian technologies.
The NPP’s design will include two Rosatom Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor units, which, according to Rosatom, use “time-tested engineering solutions” and “the latest active and passive protection systems” in strict accordance with the international safety standards of the IAEA. The operational life of the VVER-1200 reactors is 60 years. On June 20, 2025 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) a roadmap for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Ulken was signed between the Atomic Energy Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Rosatom.
The total cost of the project is estimated at 11.2 billion dollars. At the same time, the Russian side will provide a loan during the construction phase.
Currently, reactors of this type are operating in Russia (four units) and in Belarus (two units). This technology was chosen by Rosatom’s partners in Hungary, Egypt, Turkey, Bangladesh and China. At the SPIEF`25, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced his interest in building his first nuclear power plant with the participation of Rosatom.
According to Kazakh atomic scientists, the Chinese CNNC, which has more than 25 years of experience in cooperation with a Russian partner, could act as a partner of Rosatom in an international consortium. That said, they refer to the successful cooperation of these two companies during the construction of the third and fourth units of the Tianwan NPP in China, when they managed to complete the construction of the plant in 56 months instead of 60 months under the contract without exceeding the estimate.
This became possible largely due to the division of efforts.: Rosatom was responsible for the “nuclear island” (reactor, primary circuit equipment), while CNNC was responsible for the second circuit (turbines), which generates electricity and is responsible for the station’s output and connection to the grid.
Thus, the future list of the members of the international consortium suggests itself, taking into account the extensive and positive experience of the two companies.
Rosatom has already experienced disruptions in the supply of reactor equipment due to inadequate EU policies. In 2024, due to the unilateral refusal of the German company Simens Energy to sell equipment to Rosatom for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under construction in Turkey, it had to be replaced with its Chinese analogue. As a result, despite Western sabotage, the first power unit will be launched this year.
However, despite the positive results of the Kazakh referendum, the construction of nuclear power plants has opponents in the face of the so-called “environmentalists” who claim the possibility of alleged radioactive contamination of Lake Balkhash. However, according to the objective and independent monitoring of the IAEA, the Belarusian NPP, which also houses the VVER 1200 reactors, had no impact on the environment, either during construction or during operation.
Some local political analysts also express concern about whether Russia’s participation in the construction of nuclear power plant will lead to increased energy dependence of Kazakhstan on Moscow. However, the Kazakh authorities claim that Astana is signing a contract on the same terms as Minsk: local subcontractors will be involved in the construction, and Kazakh specialists will operate the station after training.
Perhaps the Russian proposal was of preferable interest as it suggests that Kazakhstan will become the sole owner of the first nuclear power plant after its construction is completed. According to the KAEA head Almasadam Satqaliev, Kazakhstan will be the operator and producer of uranium raw materials, as well as the owner of all technological processes of the future nuclear power plant.
One of the advantages of working with Rosatom is that Kazakhstani subcontractors acquire the necessary competencies to participate in the construction of the two more planned nuclear power plants. Kazakhstan has the raw materials to develop its own nuclear industry. It is important for the republic, which defends its sovereignty, that due to this project, a full-fledged nuclear cluster will be formed in Kazakhstan, self-sufficient in all areas – from mining uranium ore to the production of fuel assemblies for reactors.
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