Kazakhstan creates intergovernmental commission for nuclear power plant construction

ASTANA. Nov 25 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan has set up an intergovernmental commission for the construction of a nuclear power plant, Kazakh Energy Minister Almassadam Satkaliyev said.

"An intergovernmental commission has been created in Kazakhstan. This commission will consider proposals from all vendors on a competitive basis," Satkaliyev told journalists on the sidelines of the parliament in Astana.

If Russia proposes cooperation in nuclear power plant construction during the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kazakhstan on November 28, then Kazakhstan will be ready to discuss such a proposal, the minister said.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev earlier said that an international consortium of companies should undertake thej NPP construction. Kazakhstan would decide in 2025 on the choice of companies, technologies and contractors.

Kazakhstan's citizens voted in favor of building a nuclear power plant in the country at a referendum on October 6.

Kazakhstan is now considering technologies for largest-capacity reactors from four suppliers - France, China, Russia, and South Korea. According to the Energy Ministry, the work may take up to ten years and the average cost of one reactor will be $5 billion.