Russia’s Rosatom and Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants have signed a contract to build two units at the Balkhash nuclear power plant, with a combined capacity of 2.4 gigawatts.
The agreement was signed at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok and, according to Kazakhstan’s Atomic Energy Agency, moves the country’s first nuclear power plant project into the implementation phase.
Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said the corporation would now begin design work and form an international consortium of equipment suppliers.
“At every stage of the project, we remain firmly focused on the main objective: to build and commission power units that meet the strictest international requirements for safety and efficiency,” he said.
As leader of the international consortium, Rosatom will oversee the entire project, from design and procurement to construction, commissioning and final handover.
The plant will be built near the village of Ulken in Kazakhstan’s Almaty region, on the shore of Lake Balkhash, and is expected to be commissioned in 2035-2036.
Construction work is scheduled to begin in 2027, according to Almassadam Satkaliyev, head of Kazakhstan’s Atomic Energy Agency, with a licence for the placement of the two power units also expected that year.
Engineering surveys at the site have been under way since August 2025. According to Rosatom, specialists have drilled more than 60 boreholes, some reaching depths of 120 metres, and collected samples for laboratory analysis to determine the optimal location for the units.
The surveys are expected to be completed in 2027, after which engineers will prepare the documentation required to obtain construction permits. The reactors will have an operating life of 60 years, with the possibility of a further 20-year extension.
The project follows a nationwide referendum held on 6 October 2024, when, according to official results, 5,561,937 people, or 71.12 per cent of those who voted, supported the construction of a nuclear power plant.
Rosatom was selected in June 2025 to lead the international consortium responsible for the project, and engineering surveys began near Ulken two months later. The development has nevertheless remained a subject of debate in Kazakhstan.
Some environmentalists have warned that the construction of a nuclear power plant could have a negative impact on Lake Balkhash, while civil society activists and political analysts have raised concerns that choosing a Russian corporation to lead the project could increase Kazakhstan’s dependence on Russia.
At the same time, Kazakhstan is looking beyond Russia as it develops its nuclear power sector. Astana has said that China will build two additional nuclear power plants in the country, although no timetable for their construction has yet been announced.
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