China may complete Kazakhstan’s second nuclear power plant (NPP) faster than Russia finishes the first, according to the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, who made the remarks during a recent press briefing.
«We don’t rule out this possibility. Everything will depend on the technology used by the company [CNNC] that builds it,» Sklyar said.
According to him, the government does not intend to delay the timeline for the second NPP. He added that the cost of both nuclear plants will be finalized after the completion of feasibility studies.
During talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana on June 16, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated that Kazakhstan has decided to build at least two or three NPPs. He also emphasized that the country views China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) as a reliable strategic partner in its nuclear energy projects.
The cost and the site
Earlier estimates from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy and energy experts placed the cost of building a 2.4-gigawatt (GW) NPP at between $10 billion and $15 billion. In August 2024, a representative of CNNC told Kursiv.media that the company could build such a plant for approximately $5.5 billion.
Sklyar noted that the location for the second NPP will be selected by fall 2025.
The village of Ulken, in the Zhambyl district of Kazakhstan’s Almaty region, has already been chosen as the site for the first nuclear plant. Located on the shores of Lake Balkhash, the site was selected due to the large water source needed to cool nuclear reactors. The plant will feature two VVER-1200 reactors, each with a capacity of 1.2 GW, supplied by Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom.
Meanwhile, other potential sites under consideration for the second plant include the city of Kurchatov in the East Kazakhstan region and Aktau in the Mangystau region, where the BN-350 reactor operated from the 1970s through the 1990s, generating both electricity and desalinated water from the Caspian Sea.
Bidders for the first NPP
Kazakhstan considered four potential technology providers for its NPP project: CNNC (HPR-1000 reactor), Rosatom (VVER-1200, VVER-1000 reactors), KHNP (South Korea, APR-1400 reactor) and EDF (France, EPR1200 reactor). This followed a nationwide referendum on the plant’s construction on Oct. 6, 2024. The proposal passed with 71.12% of voters in favor.
On June 14, Kazakhstan announced that Russia’s Rosatom was chosen to lead the construction of Kazakhstan’s first NPP. While CNNC was not selected for the first project, it was named the lead partner in an international consortium to build Kazakhstan’s second NPP.
Kazakhstan’s Agency for Atomic Energy has announced that the country’s first NPP is expected to be operational by 2035-2036. Previously, the Ministry of Energy had estimated a construction timeline of around 10 years.
