Kazakhstan approves plan for first nuclear power plant

Kazakhstan has approved a plan to build its first nuclear power station in a referendum, overcoming lingering resentment over massive radiation exposure from Soviet-era nuclear tests

Kazakhstan has approved a plan to build its first nuclear power station in a referendum, overcoming lingering resentment over massive radiation exposure from Soviet-era nuclear tests.

The Central Asian country is the world's largest producer of uranium and has massive oil reserves but it suffers from chronic energy shortages.

The "Yes" vote won 71.12 percent in the referendum on October 6 and the turnout was 63.66 percent, the Kazakh electoral commission said on Monday.

China, France, Russia and South Korea are in the running to build the new power station, which is to be located on the shores of Lake Balkhash.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev says the plant would be "the biggest project in the history of independent Kazakhstan". Tokayev indicated that he preferred an "international consortium made up of global companies equipped with cutting-edge technologies".

The issue of nuclear power is sensitive given that between 1949 and 1989, the Soviet Union carried out around 450 nuclear tests there, exposing 1.5 million people to radiation.

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