Russia to build Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant

"Rosatom has been designated the leader of the international consortium for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan," the Kazakh atomic energy agency announced Saturday. Kazakhstan, a vast former Soviet republic and ally of Moscow, is the world's largest producer of uranium (43%) and the third-largest supplier of natural uranium to the European Union. But it is critically short of electricity for its domestic consumption.

The Kazakh agency now says it is "studying the issue of obtaining state export financing at the expense of the Russian Federation, in accordance with Rosatom's proposals." Rosatom, China National Nuclear Corporation (China), EDF (France), and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (South Korea) were among the four companies considered. The agency adds that it "will continue to work with foreign partners to form an effective international consortium," without providing further details.

This international consortium project, which was never specified, is in line with Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's desire to maintain good relations with the major powers. Moscow, a historic power in Central Asia, thus won this tender at the expense of China, now a key player in the region. This announcement comes just days before Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to visit Kazakhstan for a "Central Asia-China" summit.

The plant, whose construction was unsurprisingly approved in a referendum this fall, is to be built near the semi-abandoned village of Ulken (south), on the shores of Lake Balkhash, the second largest in Central Asia. In neighboring Uzbekistan, Russian giant Rosatom will build a small nuclear power plant and has proposed a similar project to Kyrgyzstan.