The agreement was signed with Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Limited Liability Partnership (KNPP) during a visit to Seoul by KNPP’s chief executive officer Timur Zhantikin and Kazakhstan deputy energy minister Zhandos Nurmaganbetov. KNPP is a branch of the Kazakh government’s Samruk-Kazyna sovereign welfare fund.
South Korean media reported that the agreement includes cooperation in the development of new nuclear power plants, the application of nuclear technology, the development of human resources and public support.
In 2019, KHNP submitted a proposal to Kazakhstan to build two 1,000 MW or 1,400 MW nuclear power plants.
KNPP has been studying the possibility of building nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan since September 2021. It is preparing to submit a proposal to president Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev in the third quarter of 2022 to build two plants with a total capacity of 2,800 MW. Construction of the new units is expected to begin in 2029 and be completed in 2035.
Kazakhstan, a major producer of uranium for nuclear power plants, has said it is planning to build it first nuclear power station on the western shore of Lake Balkhash in the Almaty region in the southeast of the country.
Studies related to the project to build a nuclear station could take until the end of the year with a reactor the technology selected in 2023. Russian, French, Japanese, South Korean and Chinese reactor technology is all likely to be in the running.
