ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 4. Certain surveys are being conducted among the population regarding the construction of nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan, said Vice Minister of Energy Sungat Yessimkhanov at a briefing, Trend reports.
"Certain surveys are being conducted, and, according to preliminary information, more than 50 percent of respondents have a positive attitude towards the construction of nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan," he said.
Yessimkhanov also noted that the decision on the date of the referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant has not yet been made.
"The final decision will be made by government leadership. Today, relevant work is underway, which is carried out at the Ministry of Energy together with Samruk-Kazyna. The present work primarily aims to provide explanations," he said.
Sungat Yessimkhanov pointed out that even with a negative result from the referendum, Kazakhstan has enough resources to meet the country’s electricity needs.
"But the development of nuclear energy has its advantages," he noted.
To note, on September 1, 2023, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, stated that a referendum will be held in the country in connection with the construction of a nuclear power plant.
"In 2019, on my election platform, I promised that the most important strategic issues would be decided through referendums. The construction of or refusal to build a nuclear power plant is an extremely important issue concerning the future of our country. Therefore, I propose to put it to a national referendum. We will decide on specific terms later," he said.
Afterward, Kazakhstan presented a list of companies that are bidding to supply technology for the country's first nuclear power plant. They are China's CNNC with the HPR-1000 reactor, South Korea's KHNP with the APR-1400 reactor, France's EDF with the EPR-1200 reactor, and Russia's Rosatom with the VVER-1200 and VVER-1000 reactors.