Kazakhstan to begin producing its own nuclear fuel

Natsional'naya Atomnaya Kompaniya Kazatomprom AO

08/08/2025 13:19

ALMATY, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan, the world's largest uranium producer, plans to produce its own nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants being built in the Central Asian country in the coming years, its atomic energy agency said on Friday.

Kazakhstan does not yet have its own nuclear power plants, but its uranium reserves, which make up about 15% of the world's total, are second only to Australia’s.

In October, 71.12% of voters in Kazakhstan supported the construction of a nuclear power plant. On Friday, Russia's Rosatom began work on the first nuclear plant, in Kazakhstan's southeastern village of Ulken, local media reported.

The engineering and survey work was started by a subsidiary of Rosatom, and will last at least 18 months, with construction of the plant expected to be completed in 2035. Two more nuclear plants in Kazakhstan are expected to be built by China.

Nuclear power has been promoted by the government of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as a way to gradually wean Kazakhstan's growing economy off polluting coal-fired power.

By 2035, Kazakhstan plans to have 2.4 gigawatts of nuclear capacity.

 (Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva. Writing by Felix Light. Editing by Mark Potter)