Facility likely to have two Russia-supplied plants
Kazakhstan will name its first nuclear power plant Balkhash, aligning with international practice of naming nuclear facilities after their geographical location.
The name was confirmed after an online competition and vote that took place from 25 September to 10 October.
The station will be built on the banks of Lake Balkhash, about 400 km north of Kazakhstan’s former capital Almaty.
The facility is expected to have two Russia-supplied Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor units.
The country’s competition commission announced on 17 November that “Balkhash Nuclear Power Plant” was selected from 882 proposals submitted by citizens. More than 27,000 took part in the competition.
Out of 10,460 unique variants, the commission reviewed the 100 most popular names.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in his state of the nation address in September that the construction of Kazakhstan’s first commercial nuclear power station will not be enough to ensure stable economic growth and the country must begin planning the construction of a second and even a third facility.
Kazakhstan is the world’s leading uranium producer, responsible for over 40% of global supply, and possesses the world’s largest reserves, but has never operated a commercial nuclear plant.
