Design work for NPP in Kazakhstan should start in 2023 - Kazakh deputy PM

ASTANA. Feb 1 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan should decide on the technology for the construction of a nuclear power plant and start its design work in 2023, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar said.

"The ministry needs to make a final decision on the technologies for the construction of an NPP and start its basic design this year," Sklyar said at a board meeting in the Kazakh Energy Ministry in Astana on Wednesday.

Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov earlier told reporters Kazakhstan was working with Rosatom to implement a roadmap to prepare for the construction of an NPP in Kazakhstan.

Kazakh Energy Minister Bola Akchulakov said the government will decide on the supplier of technologies for the NPP in 2023. According to the Samruk-Kazyna state fund's estimate, Rosatom has a number of technological advantages.

The project to build an NPP in Kazakhstan is expected to be implemented by an international pool of investors. The construction is planned near the village of Ulken, Almaty region. According to the Energy Ministry's data, the work may take up to ten years and the average cost of one power unit will be $5 billion. The country's projected energy balance for the period to 2035 considers commissioning an NPP with a total capacity of 2.4 gigawatts as one of the options.