Kazakhstan Establishes Nuclear Energy Agency
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree on improving the state administration system, establishing a new Atomic Energy Agency, according to the presidential press service.
The agency, which will report directly to the president, will assume some of the functions of the Ministry of Energy, including overseeing uranium extraction, nuclear energy use, and radiation safety—particularly in the area of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.
Tokayev appointed Almasadam Satkaliyev as head of the agency. Until now, he had served as Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy.
The president had recently announced plans to create the Atomic Energy Agency during a speech at the National Kurultai. At the same time, he also emphasized the need to construct three nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan. The country is currently preparing for the construction of its first nuclear power plant, planned for the village of Ulken in the Almaty region on the shores of Lake Balkhash.
The plant will be built by an international consortium, though its composition has yet to be determined. Four companies have been shortlisted as potential technology suppliers:
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP)
Russia’s Rosatom
France’s EDF
A final decision on the consortium’s participants is expected by July 1.
