Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 12 /Trend, E.Ostapenko/
Building a nuclear power plant is again talked about in Kazakhstan. Giving a speech Wednesday at a forum in Astana devoted to nuclear power, President Nursultan Nazarbayev reiterated the intention to build nuclear power plant in the country.
"Today, humanity has no more powerful source than nuclear energy. Now some 40 countries are researching for peaceful atom, 15 states are building or planning to build nuclear power plants, among them, there is Kazakhstan as well," said the President.
According to experts, the public of Kazakhstan approaches this initiative doubtfully. However, opponents to the project can not to be heard. The influence of civil society in Kazakhstan is not enough to halt the construction of nuclear power plants, said Kazakh political analyst Dosim Satpayev.
"There is high level of atomphobia in the country. The Kazakh society is not yet ready to have a nuclear power plant on its territory, it must be prepared for the need for such a construction," Satpayev, director of "Group of Risk Assessment" Analytical Centre in Almaty, told Trend.
However, the government, which proceeds from the probability of the second wave of crisis, is more positive, he said. In September Industry Ministry stated that given the tragic events in Japan in the spring of this year, Kazakhstan is considering the feasibility of building a nuclear power plant.
Kazakhstan possesses a quarter of all world reserves of uranium used in nuclear power plants, great scientific potential and nuclear infrastructure.
After the collapse of the USSR, Kazakhstan inherited the world's fourth power of its nuclear potential. The largest testing, space and nuclear test sites, including the Semipalatinsk - the first and one of the largest Soviet nuclear test sites, were located in the country.
Construction of nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan is due to objective reasons, said Satpayev. The Republic can face a shortage of electricity in the near future, he said.
"The energy capacity of Kazakhstan will not correspond to the implementation of the adopted economic programs in Kazakhstan. NPP is considered as an option for additional sources of energy," Satpayev said.
The Green Party of Kazakhstan is categorically opposing against the nuclear facilities in Kazakhstan, considering the project economically unjustified and dangerous.
As one of the main arguments against the construction of nuclear power, the Green Party considers its dangerous location. "The NPP is planned to be built in Aktau, western Kazakhstan, where country's oil and gas industry accumulates," the leader Green Party Serikzhan Mambetalin told Trend.
In the Soviet period, there was a nuclear combine in Aktau, near which there is a suitable site. But in the Soviet period, the combine worked on the production of weapons-grade plutonium, said Mambetalin, noting that the new plant will be a cover for development of uncivil nuclear.
"So, Kazakhstan is once again becoming a testing ground for various nuclear technologies," he said. Also, the Green Party is concerned over the technologies to be used in construction.
"The nuclear power plant in Aktau is likely to be built by [the Russian Atomic Energy Corporation] Rosatom. The technology that is planned to be used has never been tested," said Mambetalin. According to him, Rosatom plans to use reactors with submarines for Kazakhstan's planned nuclear power plant.
According to Satpayev, the choice of technology in the construction of NPP was one reason for the constant postponement of the project. Currently, besides Rosatom, also Indian, Japanese and French companies lobby their interests.
"The fact that an agreement has been signed with Rosatom does not say that a final decision has been made on the choice of a nuclear reactor, which would be used as a basis for nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan still has an opportunity to choose," said Satpayev.
Kazakhstan expressed its intention to build a nuclear power plant on its territory in 1998. Then, the building was planned near Balkhash Lake in the center of the country. However, the initiative was perceived very negatively in the community and the development of the project was suspended.
The Green Party leader said the party will protest against the current plans to build a nuclear power plant in Aktau. "We also plan to initiate a national referendum on the issue. This is a complicated process, but we will act, said Mambetalin. - We will attract the European anti-nuclear movement as well.
Satpayev does not see sufficient strength in Greens to resist the government's plans. If the protest would be made by more active and influential political forces such as national patriots, in this case, the protests could cover wide circle of people, he said.
"However, if the leadership makes a clear decision, it is not worth to expect attention to these and other negative tendencies in the society," he said.