Kazakhstan to hold national referendum on nuclear power plant construction

President Tokayev (KAZINFO)

ASTANA: Kazakhstan will hold a national referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP) amid conflicting views on its merit.

“Nuclear energy development has turned into an economic and political issue of particular importance,” President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a joint session of the Kazakh Parliament chambers.

“On the one hand, being the world’s largest uranium producer, Kazakhstan needs to develop its own nuclear generation. Some experts stand for building NPP with small reactors. On the other hand, some people and experts have expressed concerns over safety of NPPs.” Tokayev was quoted as saying by KAZINFORM.

This is quite natural with the consideration of the tragic heritage of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Testing Site, he added.

“We need to continue public hearings and discussions on this issue. In 2019, in my election platform, I promised that the decisions regarding the most important strategic problems would be taken via referendums,” the president said.

“The construction of the NPP or rejecting the idea is an issue of particular importance impacting the future of our country. Therefore, I propose to hold a nationwide referendum on this issue.”

The date of the referendum will be decided later, Tokayev said.

According to the World Energy Association, Kazakhstan has 12% of the world’s uranium resources and in 2021 produced about 21,800 tU.

In 2009, Kazakhstan became the world’s leading uranium producer, with almost 28% of world production. In 2019, the Central Asian country produced 43% of the world’s uranium.

A single Russian nuclear power reactor operated from 1972 to 1999, generating electricity and desalinating water.