ASTANA, December 2. /TASS/. Sergey Gromov, director general of Rosatom’s Central Asian subsidiary, said the Russian corporation has offered Kazakhstan to build two nuclear power reactors, according to a statement from the Russian Embassy in the country.
Gromov made the statement at a roundtable discussion titled "Nuclear Power is the Foundation of Energy Independence and Technological Development," according to the embassy. He said these would be the latest, third-generation reactors capable to produce a combined 2,400 MW of electricity.
"A nuclear power plant with such capacity will be able to cover up to 20% of Kazakhstan's shortfall in electricity generation," the embassy said.
In November, Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said that Kazakhstan is aware of the competitive advantages of Russian technologies in the field of nuclear power.
"Russian nuclear technologies are now the safest, most efficient and cheapest in terms of construction," he said.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev suggested in a state-of-the-nation address on September 1 that the issue of building a nuclear power plant be put to a nationwide referendum. The date of the referendum will be set after public consultations, which are currently underway.
Kazakhstan is currently considering several potential nuclear technology contractors. They are China's CNNC, South Korea's KHNP, France's EDF and Russia’s state corporation Rosatom. The Ulken village the Almaty Region has been picked as the most preferable area for building a nuclear power plant.