Astana, Kazakhstan, Jan. 17
By Daniyar Mukhtarov - Trend:
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, gave his annual address to the people of the country in Parliament on Jan.17.
The president instructed the government of the republic to solve issues of the placement, investment and construction period of the fourth refinery and a nuclear power plant (NPP) by the end of the first quarter of 2014.
"Before the end of the first quarter the government should resolve the issues of placement, investment sources and construction period of the fourth oil refinery and nuclear power plant," the president said.
Nazarbayev went on to say that despite the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, the need for cheap nuclear energy in the world will only grow and Kazakhstan should not lag behind this process.
The head of state said that Kazakhstan is a leader in global uranium production.
"We have to develop our own production of fuel for nuclear power plants and build nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan", Nazarbayev stressed.
The president also stressed the need to build new refineries in the country.
"The country needs large amounts of gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel and to date there is not enough and it is nonsense. We are an oil-producing country and we should immediately build new refineries," the head of state said.
At the same time, the president called for more work on the transfer of public transport to an environmentally friendly fuel.
"We need to create conditions for the transfer of public transport to clean fuels, introduce electric vehicles and create an appropriate infrastructure for them," Nazarbayev said.
Translated by M.L.
Edited by S.M.