Kazakhstan approved plans to build its first nuclear power plant 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 huge oil reserves, but suffers from chronic energy shortages.
“Yes” won 71.12 percent in Sunday’s referendum and turnout was 63.66 percent, Kazakhstan’s election commission announced Monday.
China, France, Russia and South Korea are vying to build the new power plant, which is to be located on the shores of Lake Balkas.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who was elected in 2019, says the plant will be “the biggest project in the history of independent Kazakhstan.”
Tokayev said on Sunday that he favors an “international consortium consisting of global companies equipped with cutting-edge technologies”.
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The “Yes” camp dominated throughout the campaign and opponents worried about possible accidents tried to be heard.
Dozens were arrested in the weeks leading up to the referendum, according to local private media.
The issue of nuclear power is sensitive since between 1949 and 1989, the Soviet Union conducted about 450 nuclear tests there, exposing 1.5 million people to radiation.
The power station is to be built near the semi-abandoned village of Ulken in the steppes of Kazakhstan on the shores of Lake Balkhash, the second largest lake in Central Asia.
To boost participation, the authorities allowed Kazakhs to vote even if they were not registered on the electoral rolls. Buses were free in major cities on referendum day to facilitate access to polling stations.
“The referendum itself is further evidence of the huge changes that have taken place in Kazakhstan over the past five years, a new clear manifestation of the concept of a listening state,” Tokayev said before the vote.
Source: AFP