Russia has signed an agreement to construct Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant in a $16.5 billion deal, marking a major energy partnership between the two countries and expanding Moscow’s role in Central Asia’s power infrastructure.
Kazakhstan, the world's biggest producer of uranium and a country which suffered from the fallout from Soviet nuclear testing, has been discussing the possibility of atomic power for at least two decades.
A 2024 referendum returned a vote in favor of constructing a nuclear power plant and designated the village of Ulken, on the shores of Lake Balkhash in the southeast of the country as the site.
"The agreement signed today on the construction of the Balkhash NPP has an important role," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakhstan's president, said before thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was in Astana for talks, for his support.
"Putting the plant into operation will make a significant contribution to the energy supply of the Kazakh economy," Putin said.
