Plan to build three nuclear plants in Kazakhstan to be ready in Q2 - minister

ASTANA. Jan 29 (Interfax) - A comprehensive plan for the construction of three nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan will be ready in the second quarter of 2025, Kazakh Energy Minister Almassadam Satkaliyev said.

"At least three NPPs are needed to form a nuclear cluster. We will proceed from this when drafting the Energy Ministry's strategic plan, we will work on the assumption that at least three NPPs must be built," Satkaliyev said at a briefing on Wednesday in Astana.

"This comprehensive document will be drafted in the near future for the full development of the nuclear cluster. Given the advanced state of readiness and the president's instructions to speed up work on this document, I think we will submit it [for the government's consideration] in the second quarter," he said.

Satkaliyev said the ministry had already begun looking for a site for the third NPP.

"Depending on the technology, a nuclear power plant can be built anywhere, since there is no need for a large body of water. We will proceed from the power grid's topography. We will give our proposals in the near future. We have already begun [searching for a site for the third NPP]," he said.

He said a state commission had already identified two sites suitable for the plant - the village of Ulken on the shore of Lake Balkhash and the city of Kurchatov in the Abay region.

"We will also consider Aktau. Perhaps we will look at some growth centers there. It depends on the technology. We will certainly look at both East and West Kazakhstan," Satkaliyev said.

Kazakhstan's citizens voted in favor of building a nuclear power plant in the country at a referendum on October 6. It should be built by 2035, but Satkaliyev said on Wednesday that Kazakhstan would ask vendors to build the first power unit more quickly, within eight years. Project costs are estimated at $10 billion-$12 billion.

Kazakhstan is currently considering high power reactor technologies from four suppliers - France, China, Russia and South Korea. According to the Energy Ministry, the average cost per power unit is $5 billion.