For the first time in more than two decades, Kazakhstan - an oil and gas rich country and the world leader in uranium output - has officially launched a project to build a nuclear power plant.
Notably, Russia's Rosatom State Nuclear Group and China's National Nuclear Corporation (NNC) have been selected to lead two separate consortia to realize Kazakhstan's nuclear energy ambitions.
The information was announced by the Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency on June 14, just a few months after it was established in March 2025.
Kazakhstan has not had any nuclear power plants since 1999, when the BN-350 reactor on the Caspie coast was shut down. Despite its huge uranium reserves, Kazakhstan is still heavily dependent on coal-fired thermal power, in addition to a growing hydropower and renewable energy sector.
At a November 2024 poll, Kazakhstan voters approved a plan to build a nuclear power plant, a major turning point in the country's energy policy. The target is to reach 2.4 gigawatt of capacity from nuclear power by 2035.
According to Kazakhstan's nuclear power agency, Russia's Rosatom proposal is considered "the most optimal and beneficial".
Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev affirmed that the power plant in Kazakhstan will use VVER-1200 technology of the 3+ generation, considered the world's most advanced and efficient design. The project will be built in Ulken village, about 400km northwest of Almaty commercial center, including two nuclear reactors.
Kazakhstan's Chairman of the Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency, Ms. Almasadam Satqaliev, said that Kazakhstan will also sign a separate agreement with the State nuclear power Corporation of China to build a second nuclear plant.
China is certainly one of the countries with adequate technology, industrial facilities and necessary experience. Our next priority is cooperation with China, Mr. Satqaliev emphasized.
The CNNC has not yet issued an official response.
Although the costs and progress of the two projects have not been specifically announced, the presence of the two nuclear powers Russia and China in Kazakhstan shows an increasinglyft competition between the powers for influence in Central Asia.
Previously, companies from France and South Korea have also submitted proposals to participate in the Kazakhstan nuclear power project, but were not selected in the initial phase.
Kazakhstan is strengthening bilateral energy relations with both Russia and China. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kazakhstan in November 2024 to discuss industrial and energy cooperation.
On the Chinese side, the National Oil and Gas Group (CNPC) has reached an agreement with Kazakhstan on increasing gas imports in the 2024-2025 period, and signed a crude oil purchase contract with Tengizchevroil - a leading oil mining joint venture in Kazakhstan.
