ASTANA, November 25. /TASS/. Kazakhstan is ready to discuss with the Russian delegation Rosatom’s potential participation in the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP) in the republic during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Astana on November 27, Kazakh Energy Minister Almassadam Satkaliyev told reporters.
"If the Russian side brings up this point we are ready for the discussion," he said when asked a respective question. A special governmental commission on discussion of participation of various companies in the NPP construction has been set up in the Kazakh government, the minister added.
On October 6, a republic-wide referendum on construction of a nuclear power plant was held in Kazakhstan, with the majority of those voting supporting the construction of such a plant. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that he considered it necessary to attract a consortium of foreign companies for the NPP construction. The Kazakh authorities considered earlier several possible nuclear technology suppliers, including China’s CNNC, South Korea’s KHNP, Rosatom and France’s EDF.