Kazakhstan appears to be moving towards appointing some form of international consortium to construct its planned nuclear power plant (NPP), popular backing for which was secured with a 71% “Yes” vote in a referendum held at the weekend.

Whether the move would rile Moscow—which has put considerable effort into “nuclear diplomacy” across Central Asia and other parts of the world in the past year—is a key question. In foreign policy, Kazakhstan pursues a “multi-vector” approach designed to maintain friendly relations with all the major powers, but the Kremlin, anxious to ensure Russia keeps its standing as the number one strategic partner across the post-Soviet Central Asian countries, and viewing nuclear energy as an essential part of its economic fortunes moving forward, will push hard to lead the NPP project.

“My personal opinion is that an international consortium, consisting of global companies with the most advanced technologies, should work in Kazakhstan,” President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said after he cast his vote in the NPP referendum. Official turnout for the poll was 63%. 

As well as Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, China National Nuclear Corp, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co and Electricite de France (EDF), are on Kazakhstan’s list of possible NPP builders, according to the country’s energy ministry.

Referencing Tokayev, Nikita Shatalov, a member of Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament, said in a Telegram post, after the vote, that putting together an international consortium for the delivery of the NPP would be the best route for aligning with the foreign policy objectives of the country, the world’s top producer of nuclear fuel uranium. 

Shatalov pointed out that Kazakhstan would be following a well-established international approach, with countries like the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Hungary having also engaged multiple nations and technology providers to collaborate on NPP projects. Not that combinations of diverse technologies and expertise would necessarily deny Rosatom the role of main contractor—in Turkey, for instance, the Russian company is very much viewed as in charge of the Akkuyu project to provide the country with an NPP, though it is reliant on other countries for certain technology, as was underlined in September when it became clear that Berlin is blocking Siemens from delivering technology to Akkuyu that is vital to completing the facility.

The proposal is to build the NPP in the village of Ulken, located by Kazakhstan’s largest lake, Lake Balkhash, in the southeast of the country. While some locals are optimistic that the project will bring jobs and development to the area, others are concerned about potential environmental impacts, with, for instance, local fishermen worried fish stocks could be under threat. 

Tokayev has hailed the NPP initiative as producing Kazakhstan’s largest ever investment project. The energy ministry is working with an initial estimate showing it will cost around $10bn to $12bn.

Though it is Central Asia’s largest oil producer, Kazakhstan has not kept up with electricity demand—its power deficit last winter and autumn was 1.5 gigawatts and imports of Russian electricity remain important to the country’s energy provision—and many of its dilapidated old power plants are often hit by unscheduled shutdowns. Nuclear energy is thus seen as indispensable by Astana in greatly expanding the country’s power generation in the coming 10 years, while at the same time cutting emissions to meet climate commitments. Officials intend to rely on nuclear power for 5% of the national energy generation mix.

Not venturing into nuclear power given perennial safety concerns, while at the same time boasting the status of the world’s number one uranium producer, would be a great frustration to many working on Kazakhstan’s economic development.

"In order not to remain on the sidelines of global progress, we must use our competitive advantages," Tokayev said ahead of the vote.

World Nuclear News noted that although Kazakhstan does not currently use nuclear energy, it has three operating research reactors, while a Russian-designed BN-350 sodium-cooled fast reactor was in operation near Aktau by the Caspian Sea for 26 years, until 1999.

Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), a subsidiary of Kazakhstan's Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund, was set up in 2014. It is designated as the owner/operator of the future nuclear plant and was tasked with pre-project work including a feasibility study to outline the need for nuclear power.

The proposed NPP would be a large reactor. However, options for using small modular reactors (SMRs) have not been ruled out.

Central Asia’s first NPP, to be built in Uzbekistan by Rosatom, will operate with SMRs.