"Need to speed up": Tokayev made a statement regarding nuclear power plants.

The President of Kazakhstan announced that the construction of nuclear power plants, a decision reached following the 2024 referendum, needs to be expedited. This information was reported by NUR.KZ, citing Akorda.

https://www.nur.kz/politics/kazakhstan/2209556-nado-uskoryatsya-tokaev-sdelal-zayavlenie-po-atomnym-stanciyam/2025-01-09 08:28:29

During a visit to the Project Office located in the EXPO campus, the head of state specifically addressed the topic of nuclear energy development.

"We need to accelerate the construction of nuclear power plants. I have already mentioned in an interview that we will build two large stations, possibly three."

"We must transform Kazakhstan into a country with advanced nuclear energy, a country where artificial intelligence operates and digitalization is fully implemented," - stated Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

At the beginning of January, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave an extensive interview to the newspaper "Ana tіlі," in which he expressed his views on the construction of nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan.

Construction of Nuclear Power Plants in Kazakhstan

In 2019, it became known that there were plans to build a Kazakh nuclear power plant in the Almaty region. The specific location mentioned was the village of Ulken. At the end of 2021, the Minister of Energy, Almasadam Satkaliev, confirmed that the nuclear power station could be located in this village.

In June 2022, the Ministry of Energy announced that a shortlist of four suppliers had been created for the first nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan after reviewing their technologies. At the same time, Satkaliev stated that the station would not be built if the people of Kazakhstan did not support the idea.

In November 2023, the Minister of Energy revealed when a company would be selected to build the nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan. In December, the approximate amount planned for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the country was disclosed.

In June of this year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that a referendum would be held in Kazakhstan to decide whether to build a nuclear power plant in the country.

The voting took place on October 6 of this year. Citizens of Kazakhstan were asked to respond to one question: "Do you agree with the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan?" To express their position on this matter, citizens needed to put a checkmark or cross next to one of the two answer options - "yes" or "no."

According to the Central Election Commission, the turnout was 63.87%, meaning that more than 7.8 million Kazakhs participated in the voting. The number of votes in favor of the positive decision was 71.12%, or 5,561,937. The number of citizens who voted against was 2,045,271.