Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Kazakhstan plans to start the construction of its first nuclear power plant in 2018.

The country is expected to generate nuclear power in 2023-2024, Kazinform quoted Kazakh Deputy Minister of Industry and New Technologies Bahytzhan Dzhaksaliyev as saying on June 5.

"If the decision on the construction of the nuclear power plant has been taken until the end of 2014, we can receive first energy volumes in 2023-2024," Dzhaksaliev said.

He also noted the studies and research of the nuclear power plant project will require 2-3 years.

If everything goes right, construction of the nuclear power plant will be launched in 2018, he said.

Kazakhstan possesses 0.85 million tons of uranium reserves. It ranks second in the world in terms of the reserves, and first in terms of uranium mining.

Uranium production in Kazakhstan has amounted to 21,240 tons, or about 37 percent of the world production, since 2012. All the uranium produced in Kazakhstan is exported, particularly to China and Europe.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has ordered to prepare an energy balance map of the country to determine which regions are energy-deficient.

Kazakhstan plans to build nuclear power plants in its energy-deficient regions.

Kazakhstan is considering the construction of two new nuclear power plants. The special commission created under a presidential decree has already made a decision on the locations of the power plants.

"The commission has determined two prospective areas for the construction of the nuclear power plants, particularly in the Kurchatov and Balkhash regions," Head of Kazatomprom Vladimir Shkolnik said.