Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy has responded to Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev’s statement about the company’s role in a nuclear power plant (NPP) construction in Kazakhstan. The agency said that neither a sole technology vendor nor a consortium has been arranged yet.
«The final decision on selecting a vendor or a consortium for the NPP project implementation has yet to be made. We plan to make this decision, taking into account Kazakhstan’s interests, international regulatory requirements and liabilities,» the ministry said in a statement.
In late January, Likhachev stated that the two countries were «heading toward joint resolutions» concerning the construction of an NPP in Kazakhstan. He reached this conclusion after discussions during a meeting between Prime Ministers Olzhas Bektenov and Mikhail Mishustin in Almaty. Likhachev concluded his talk with reporters with an assertion, saying that Rosatom «will work here with great pleasure.»
The Ministry of Energy also added that Rosatom is included in a shortlist of potential nuclear technology vendors, alongside South Korean KHNP, Chinese CNNC and French EDF.
On Jan. 21, a delegation of Kazakhstani officials led by Minister of Energy Almassadam Satkaliyev visited Saint Petersburg, Russia, to observe the Leningrad NPP. Notably, similar visits have also taken place in South Korea, France and China.
