Kazakhstan selects Rosatom and CNNC to build the country's first nuclear plants

Kazakhstan’s Atomic Energy Agency has announced that the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom and the Chinese state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) will lead separate consortiums to build the first nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan. Rosatom will thus build the country first nuclear power plant, which will be located near Ulken, near Balkhash Lake in the Zhambyl district of Kazakhstan’s Almaty region. The plant is expected to feature Russia’s VVER-1200 Generation 3+ reactors. The Kazakh Ministry of Energy currently estimates that the plant could be completed by the early 2030s.

In addition, China’s CNNC was selected to lead another consortium to develop a second nuclear power plant in the country. No further details were given in this second project, but the Kazakh atomic energy agency said it would sign a separate agreement with the Chinese company.

In October 2024, Kazakhstan held a referendum on the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant, for which over 71% of participants voted in favour. Four companies, namely CNNC, KHNP (South Korea), Rosatom, and EDF (France), were then shortlisted as potential technology suppliers.

Kazakhstan does not currently have nuclear capacity but is the world’s first uranium producer, with 21.8 kt produced in 2023, and has the world’s second largest proved reserves of uranium with over 316 kt. Kazakhstan, which announced the establishment of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Atomic Energy in March 2025, seeks to reach 2.4 GW of nuclear capacity by 2035.