BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 21. Kazakhstan needs a nuclear power plant, Kazakh Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said during a meeting with the population in Nur-Sultan, Trend reports citing Kazakh media.
“We can no longer use coal in such volumes as before. Unfortunately, nobody finances coal plants today. You see the situation with gas very well: it gradually depletes and will be insufficient if we won’t discover new deposits or invest in their development,” Akchulakov explained. “The nuclear power plant is not a panacea for solving the problem, but it’s a proven sustainable source of energy.”
Speaking about the opponents of the construction of nuclear power plants and the concerns of Kazakh citizens, the minister noted that the concerns are connected with the nuclear test site which existed in Soviet times.
"There are always risks in any business. Even when you drink water, there is a risk that something can happen to a person. It’s just necessary to manage and calculate the risks correctly. We are doing this now, but I want to repeat that a nuclear power plant is a good solution to the problem of future deficits," the minister added.