Nuclear energy to become full-fledged sector of national economy – President
Taking the floor at the meeting of the National Council for Science and Technology, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that in negotiations on construction of the nuclear power plant, primary focus must be on safeguarding the national interests, Kazinform News Agency reports citing the Akorda press service.
The Head of State reminded that the project of construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant is being implemented jointly with Rosatom International Consortium.
“In negotiations with this company, the relevant agency and the Government must, first and foremost, act in the national interests. All agreements signed must be fair, balanced and productive. We must not allow careless or inefficient use of our natural resources, particularly, uranium,” the President said.
“We must begin planning the construction of the second and third nuclear power plant. During our meeting with the President of China, we agreed to expand bilateral cooperation in the field of peaceful atom use,” he added.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reminded that the development of nuclear energy is impossible without strategically important mineral resources.
He said that Kazakhstan possesses substantial reserves of rare metals essential to this sector.
“Our country ranks among the global leaders in uranium production, with 40% of the world’s uranium deposits concentrated in its territory. The construction of the nuclear power plant will drastically change the role of uranium in the economy,” he noted.
The President reminded that a plant for the production of fuel assemblies was opened in the country in 2021.
“The commissioning of the nuclear power plant will let complete the production cycle. Thanks to this, nuclear energy will become independent of foreign markets and will turn into a full-fledged sector of the national economy. This is an extremely complex objective and our scientists are imposed tremendous responsibility in its implementation,” he stressed.
The Head of State also raised issue of personnel potential of the sector.
“The country faces an acute shortage of qualified engineers and technical specialists, including in the nuclear sector. This is undoubtedly a highly pressing issue that must be addressed urgently. To date, 90% of university graduates hold bachelor’s degrees, while the share of PhD holders is less than 1%. It is crucial to raise the number of doctoral education grants, with priority given to technical disciplines,” said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
He said that in line with his directive, approximately 70% of the Bolashak Program scholarships are now allocated to the students of engineering and technical majors. Last year, a decision was made to allocate more than 50 scholarships in the field of artificial intelligence.
“Starting next year, 20 quotas will be allocated annually for training specialists in the nuclear industry. This marks an important step towards transforming Kazakhstan into a technocratic nation,” he concluded.
Earlier, in his speech, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated that science and technology hold strategic significance for all countries, noting and investment in education and science in Kazakhstan increased fivefold in the past five years. The Head of State named energy security and independence as a strategic task. He also set a task to map out a detailed plan for the science city in Kurchatov.