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The State Commission on the Development of the Nuclear Industry has identified a second prospective site for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan. According to Almasadam Satkaliev, head of the Nuclear Energy Agency, the location is Zhambyl District in the Almaty Region, Vlast.kz reports.
The official emphasized that the second plant will also be built in the south of the country, since southern Kazakhstan suffers from an energy deficit.
“Currently, electricity is transmitted through the North–South transit. This [construction of a second nuclear plant] will provide stability and reliability in energy supply,” Satkaliev said.
He added that negotiations are ongoing with all participants in the tender. A final decision in favor of CNC, a Chinese company, has not been made, but Kazakhstan is considering it as a priority contractor for the construction of a nuclear plant, based on its proposals made during the first project.
The first plant in the republic is planned by Rosatom in the village of Ulken, also in Zhambyl District, Almaty Region. Earlier, experts had named the city of Kurchatov in East Kazakhstan Region as a possible location for a second plant.
Meanwhile, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated this past spring that it is necessary to build three nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan in order to “create a new energy industry that will provide a foundation for development for decades to come.” Today, Satkaliev said that western Kazakhstan and the Caspian coast are also being considered as potential sites for nuclear plants with small- and medium-capacity reactors.
