Kazakhstan holds referendum on building first nuclear power plant

Kazakh citizens are voting in a crucial national referendum today, October 6, to decide whether the country should construct its first nuclear power plant.

The vote, promoted by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s government, comes as the Central Asian nation seeks to reduce its reliance on coal and secure a more sustainable energy future.

Over 12 million eligible voters can cast their ballots at 10,323 polling stations across the country, including 74 abroad in 59 countries.

The referendum, which runs from 7am to 8pm local time, has drawn significant attention from both national and international observers, with 230 public associations and accredited foreign journalists monitoring the process.

A recent survey by the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies indicated that 59.2% of respondents intend to participate in the vote, reflecting the high level of public interest in the issue.

However, the proposed nuclear plant has sparked significant public debate, with concerns rooted in Kazakhstan’s Soviet nuclear legacy and fears about the involvement of Russia’s state-owned nuclear company, Rosatom.

The village of Ulken, located in the Almaty Region, has been identified as the most suitable site for the proposed plant, which is estimated to cost between $10 billion and $12 billion.

While Kazakhstan is one of the world’s largest uranium producers, the country lacks the infrastructure to enrich uranium for nuclear fuel.

The government argues that nuclear energy is a logical choice to supplement renewable sources like wind and solar power.

Kazakhstan’s aging coal-fired plants, which currently dominate its energy sector, are becoming increasingly unreliable, and the nation has started importing electricity from Russia to meet domestic demand.

However, critics argue that Kazakhstan could achieve energy security by expanding natural gas-powered plants, which are less polluting than coal but do not carry the same risks as nuclear energy.

There is also deep public distrust of nuclear projects, largely due to the Soviet-era Chornobyl disaster in 1986, which had lasting health impacts on thousands of Kazakhs involved in cleanup efforts.

Additionally, decades of Soviet nuclear weapons testing in Kazakhstan have left large tracts of land uninhabitable and contributed to widespread health problems.

Despite these concerns, President Tokayev has urged the public to embrace nuclear energy as part of a forward-looking strategy, stressing that Kazakhstan must keep pace with global progress.

Countries with nuclear power plants include the US, Russia, China, France, India, UK, Japan, and Germany, among others including Iran, Israel and Pakistan.

Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), these former eight nations are restricted from using nuclear technology for weapons development, committing to peaceful use, and working towards disarmament.