Kazakhstan has opened talks with China on building its second nuclear power plant, and Astana wants both of its first two plants finished by 2035.
Kazakhstan has opened talks with China on building its second nuclear power plant, and Astana wants both of its first two plants finished by 2035.
Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov said at a November 4 government briefing that Kazakhstan is negotiating with China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) over the second plant, known as Moyinkum. The terms of the deal, the project parameters and the timeline are still being discussed, and no final contract has been signed.
The first plant, Balkhash, will be built by a Russian-led consortium headed by Rosatom, with two reactors totalling 2.4 gigawatts, and construction is due to start in 2027. Kazakhstan, the world's largest uranium producer, approved its return to nuclear power in an October 2024 referendum, and plans a strategic uranium reserve by the end of 2027 to fuel the new plants.
The split is the point: one plant with Russia, one with China, both on the same Lake Balkhash shore, so no single partner owns Kazakhstan's nuclear future.
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