Kazakhstan to hold referendum in October on building its first nuclear power plant

Kazakhstan will hold a referendum next month on whether the Central Asian country should build its first nuclear power plant. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced this today, according to Reuters. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer. However, building a nuclear power plant is a sensitive issue in a country that was once home to the main Soviet nuclear test site.

Tokayev announced plans to hold a referendum a year ago, saying the date would be set later. Today he said the referendum would take place on 6 October.

„Every decision that is important for the country must have the support of the people,“ the president said, according to local media.

„This also applies to the referendum on the nuclear power plant. I first raised this possibility last year, so it has been discussed in the public sphere for a year now. I believe this has given citizens enough time to make an informed decision,“ he added.

According to the president, Kazakhstan urgently needs reliable, environmentally friendly energy sources. „That is why I believe we must focus on developing nuclear energy. This way of generating electricity can meet a significant share of our economy’s rapidly growing needs,“ Tokayev said.

During the Soviet era, Kazakhstan was home to the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, where hundreds of nuclear weapons tests were carried out from 1949 until the site was closed in 1991. Experts estimate that around 1.5 million people were exposed to elevated levels of radiation as a result of the tests, according to earlier reports by AFP.

The Czech Republic is now planning to build two additional units at the nuclear power plant at Dukovany, with the first expected to be completed in 2036. South Korean company KHNP will be the supplier; the Czech government selected it over France’s EDF in the tender. The Czech Republic currently operates six nuclear reactors in total: four at Dukovany and two at Temelín.

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