10.10.2024

Kazakhstan is building a $12 billion nuclear power plant.

Almost three-quarters of voters in Kazakhstan said yes in a nationwide referendum held on October 6 that asked citizens whether they agreed with the construction of a nuclear power plant, reports Euractiv.

According to preliminary results shared by the Central Referendum Commission, 71,12 percent of voters supported the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant, with a voter turnout of 64 percent.

Almaty, the largest city, recorded a voter turnout of just 25 percent, the lowest recorded in this referendum. A majority of residents reportedly opposed the plan, but decided to boycott the vote.

Of the nearly 8 million votes cast, more than 130 ballots were declared invalid. About 000 others were recognized as valid but not counted because citizens had voted for both the yes and no options.

More than 50 percent of eligible voters had to participate in the vote for the result to be counted. But despite the yes vote on the single-question ballots used on Oct. 6, many questions remain unanswered.

Protest before the vote

The facility, planned to be built near Lake Balkhash in southeastern Kazakhstan, will cost $10-12 billion. The government of Kazakhstan expects the contractors to provide the financing.

Kazakhstan, one of the world's largest uranium producers, sees nuclear power as a logical choice to increase the country's energy security.

President Kassim-Jomart Tokayev's office has touted it as a way to phase out the coal-fired power plants Kazakhstan heavily relies on.

However, the plan has been met with criticism due to concerns about the dangers involved, the deadly legacy of Soviet nuclear testing and Russia's possible involvement in the project to build a new plant.

According to foreign media reports, nearly 30 activists were detained in the days leading up to the referendum, while protest rallies were thwarted by the government. However, international observers invited to observe the process reported no complaints or irregularities during the vote.

One of the most prominent skeptics, Aset Naurizbaev, a former top manager of the national electricity grid (KEGOS), has called for the use of renewable energies such as wind and solar power as a cheaper solution to nuclear power.

Nuclear legacy

The country has a painful history with the use of nuclear materials. Kazakhstan served as a test site for the Soviet Union's nuclear program, with more than 460 tests conducted between 1949 and 1989 at the Semipalatinsk site, which closed in August 1991.

These tests rendered tracts of land in the northeastern Semey region uninhabitable, causing incredible damage to the health of nearby residents and devastating the local environment.

Kazakhstan was still part of the Soviet Union in 1986, at the time of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which left many with lifelong health problems as tens of thousands of Kazakhs were involved in the cleanup effort.

Russia's recent operations at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine have affected Kazakh society, fueling public skepticism and concerns about Moscow's involvement in building the project.

In addition to Russia's Rosatom, China's National Nuclear Corporation, South Korea's Hydro & Nuclear Power and France's EDF have been named as potential partners, although Kazakh authorities have not confirmed which company could lead the project.

"From my personal point of view, an international consortium consisting of global companies with the most advanced technologies should work together in Kazakhstan," President Tokayev said after voting in the referendum.

He did not provide further details, but the statement was seen as an attempt to calm fears about Moscow's possible involvement. But it is not clear whether the aforementioned performers would be open to a multinational team with Russia in it.