Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom is ready to construct a nuclear power plant (NPP) in Kazakhstan, yet he highlighted that it’s for the «client» to decide.
«We paid significant attention to this matter during the negotiations yesterday, both in closed-door negotiations and extended talks. If Kazakhstan implements its projects in the nuclear power sphere, then, as any client, it has the right to choose the most reasonable technological solutions and financial schemes from its perspective. Kazakhstani colleagues are familiar with this activity; they are not starting from scratch. They are well aware of what they want to achieve, how much they are willing to pay and what they expect to obtain in the end,» Putin stated at a press conference during his state visit to Astana.
He added that Rosatom is the world’s largest company in this field, particularly in terms of building NPPs abroad.
«If our partners, Kazakhstan in this case, experience a need and desire to apply solutions, including technological ones, from third-party countries or hire their specialists for joint work, it is, of course, possible. Moreover, Rosatom has experience in cooperation with international partners. We discussed this yesterday as well. Even though the final decision is always up to the customer, I believe the chances of us cooperating with Kazakhstan in this sphere are very high,» the Russian leader concluded.
Earlier this week, Putin claimed that Rosatom was already ready for «new large-scale projects» with Kazakhstan. Kursiv.media also explained what form the consortium may take.
On Oct. 6, a national referendum was held regarding the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Almaty region. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated that if citizens approved the proposal, the plant would need to be built by an international consortium of companies.
Following the referendum, 71.12% of citizens voted in favor of constructing the nuclear power plant (NPP). The Ministry of National Economy stated that no state funds would be used for the project. Instead, the authorities are exploring a project financing model. The necessary funds are expected to come from a consortium of international financial institutions, with the loan to be paid back not from the state budget but from the NPP’s profits.
So far, Kazakhstan is evaluating four companies as potential nuclear technology suppliers: Chinese CNNC, Russian Rosatom, South Korean KHNP and French EDF.
