Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in a video address to the 6th Eastern Economic Forum in Russia's Vladivostok on 3 September that Kazakhstan needs a nuclear power plant, and that the issue should be analysed in detail.
"In my address to the Kazakh people, I directed that the possibility of establishing a nuclear energy sector in Kazakhstan should be comprehensibly explored. It is necessary to adequately assess the needs of the state, citizens and businesses. Personally, I think that it is time to analyse this issue in depth, as Kazakhstan needs a NPP," Tokayev said.
In February, Rosatom expressed its willingness to construct a nuclear plant in Kazakhstan. plans for nuclear power development have been considered several times in the past but were never realised. However, Kazakhstan has significant experience in the use of nuclear energy. In 1973, the world's first fast neutron reactor, the sodium-cooled BN-350, was launched on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea. Part of the thermal power of the reactor was used to generate electricity, while the rest went to the desalination of seawater. This power unit operated until 1998, which was five years longer than the design period.
Energy Minister Nurlan Nogayev said on 3 September that Kazakhstan will train personnel in the nuclear industry as instructed by the President, Turantimes.kz reported. He noted during a government meeting that the Ministry, together with NWF Samruk-Kazyna, will study issues related to the development of peaceful nuclear power. "In the field of training qualified personnel in the nuclear sector, the Ministry, together with interested state bodies and organisations, will work on the allocation of grants and scholarships for training students at the world's leading universities in the nuclear industry," he said.
freeEarlier in a message to the people of Kazakhstan, President Tokayev announced an impending shortage of electricity in Kazakhstan and expressed the need to use nuclear power to resolve this issue.
