Russia to build Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant

Announcement from Kazakh authorities

"Rosatom has been named as the leader of the international consortium for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan," the former Soviet republic's nuclear power agency said in a statement.

Kazakhstan's uranium production

Kazakhstan, a vast resource-rich country in Central Asia, is currently the world's top uranium producer, providing 43 percent of supplies. However, it does not produce enough electricity to meet domestic consumption needs.

Location of the new power plant

The new power plant, whose construction was approved in a referendum in late 2024, will be built near the half-abandoned village of Ulken near Balkhash Lake. The lake, located in the southeast, is the country's second largest.

Consortium bid participants

China's National Nuclear Corporation, France's EDF, and South Korea's Hydro and Nuclear Power had all bid to build the plant. In their announcement on Saturday, the Kazakh authorities said that the three companies would be included in the consortium led by Rosatom but did not provide any details.

Observers' perspectives

Observers say the idea of the consortium is a way for authorities to maintain good relations with all the countries involved but are skeptical that it will come to fruition, believing Rosatom will end up building the plant by itself.

Kazakhstan's diplomatic relations

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has sought to keep good relations both with former colonial power Russia and with China, which borders the country to the east and finances major infrastructure projects in the region.

Project financing and next steps

Rosatom has proposed financing the project, and work will now begin to thresh out the details, the statement said. The announcement comes a few days before Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to visit Kazakhstan for a "China-Central Asia" summit.

Historical context of nuclear power in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan had nuclear power plants when it was part of the Soviet Union, in addition to hosting Soviet nuclear weapons. It was also the site for Soviet nuclear testing. After the break-up of the USSR in 1991, the new country gave up its nuclear weapons, along with other ex-Soviet states Belarus and Ukraine; it decommissioned its nuclear power plants in the following years.