The Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan has released an update on the progress of the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant, confirming the selection of Urken in the Jabpur region of the Almaty region as the most suitable site for the plant and having shortlisted four potential suppliers.

The Kazakh Ministry of Nuclear Industry said in an update that the interdepartmental committee for Nuclear Development of the Ministry of Nuclear Industry reviewed and approved the results of the study on the suitability of the Urken nuclear power plant in May 2022. Under Kazakhstan's nuclear energy law, the construction of nuclear power plants also requires local consent. The law is subject to public discussion with the aim of determining the attitude of local people towards the idea of building a nuclear power plant on their territory. Kazakhstan's ecological regulations require public hearings to evaluate project documents for the construction of nuclear power plants.

The ministry said that the akimat(local government) in the Almaty region has now started public discussions, and the akimat in the Jabpur region issued the relevant announcement in its official channels on July 31. The ministry said a public hearing will be held later in the environmental assessment phase when project documents are ready.

The ministry reiterated the shortlist of suppliers for the project: China National Nuclear Corporation, which owns the HPR-1000(Hualong One) reactor design; Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Corporation, equipped with APR-1400; Rosatom, with VVER-1200 and VVER-1000; And the EDF and its EPR-1200 reactor.

Kazakhstan is the world's leading producer of uranium. The country currently has no nuclear power generation capacity, although the BN-350 fast reactor at Aktak (formerly Shevchenko) on the Caspian coast was in commercial operation from 1973 to 1999, providing district heating and desalination. Editor/Xu Shengpeng