Kazakhstan to proceed with nuclear power plant construction plans

In his state-of-the-nation address, President Nursultan Nazarbayev instructed the Government to resolve the problem of energy deficit and energy dependence of the country's southern regions, the session attendees noted. At the same time, they said, Kazakhstan's energy complex is being actively developed under the national Programme of Accelerated Industrial and Innovative Development (PAIID) and the industry-specific programme for the energy development of the country for 2010-2014.

Speaking at the session, Prime Minister Massimov instructed the government to carry out works on the search of shale gas in the country, the Kazakh MFA's press service said.

"In the shortest possible time we need to find resources and look into the possibility to conduct geological exploration of shale gas deposits in coal fields," Massimov stated.

The Prime Minister said in case shale gas deposits are found in the country, "the entire ideology may change." Massimov tasked competent authorities to unite exploration, gas and energy policies. In his words, the government is ready to allocate money from the budget reserves for these needs.

Addressing the government session, Minister of Industry and New Technologies Asset Issekeshev said today Kazakhstan's power sector effectively ensures a reliable heat supply and on-site power generation.

He stressed the necessity to address the issues of reducing equipment wear of power plants and power lines, and continue investment attraction into the sector.

"In 2009, the then-introduced threshold levels of tariffs played a positive role. By the year 2015 we are planning to attract nearly 1.146 trillion tenge to improve the work of the existing power plants. According to our expectations, by 2030 the electricity output will increase to 150.2 billion kWh per hour, while the consumption of electric energy will rise up to 144.7 billion kWh per hour," Issekeshev said.

By 2030, the share of renewable energy resources in Kazakhstan in terms of the generation capacity will increase by 11 percent. By that time the Ministry also plans to conduct reconstruction, modernisation and construction of new generating capacities. Further development of the national electric network with the use of advanced technologies guarantees comprehensive modernization of the sector, Issekeshev said.

"Special attention is paid to the development of regional electric networks, which includes improvement of tariff formation and providing them with new automated equipment and revenue metering systems," Issekeshev emphasised.

The Minister also noted Kazakhstan will not give up the idea of building an atomic power station.

"The construction of an atomic power station is a work in progress. We consider this a long-term objective. However, the decision on the type of reactor and determination of the specific station will take time and is still to be discussed in order to ensure the safety of the population and the use of the world's best technologies," he said.

According to Issekeshev, by the year 2030 the share of nuclear power in the country's energy sector should reach 4 percent. However, the construction period has not yet been identified.

"This year we must draw a bold line under the issue," First Deputy Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov said. He noted the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies together with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade are working on it.

Another topic at the session was the People's IPO programme. According to Kuandyk Bishimbayev, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of the Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund, Samruk-Kazyna has approved the Plan of Communication Work Organisation which aims at popularization of the programme among Kazakhstan citizens.

"In April, we will launch a website and a call centre of the programme," Bishimbayev said. "The campaign will work with all key national and regional media and use promotion technologies via Internet and other PR tools," he added.

KazTransOil, a subsidiary of the KazMunaiGaz national company, will be the first company to participate in the programme.