Kazakhstan has officially approved the site for its first nuclear power plant.

"The decision to designate the area for the construction of the nuclear facility 'Nuclear Power Plant' - Zhambyl District of Almaty Region," - is noted in the text of the government resolution.

The government decree "On the area for the construction of the nuclear facility 'Nuclear Power Plant'" was adopted on December 30, 2024.

It is worth mentioning that at the end of January, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov stated that Kazakhstan would begin determining the region for the construction of a second nuclear power plant.

After listening to the report, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to expedite the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan and also to identify the location for the second nuclear power plant.

Furthermore, Almasadam Satkaliyev indicated that a referendum would not be required for the construction of the second nuclear power plant.

In 2019, it became known that there were plans to build a Kazakh nuclear power plant in the Almaty region. At the end of 2021, the Minister of Energy, Almasadam Satkaliyev, confirmed that the nuclear facility could indeed be located in this settlement.

In November 2023, the Minister of Energy discussed when a company would be selected to construct the nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan. In December, the estimated amount planned for the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant was revealed.

In June of this year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that a referendum would be held in Kazakhstan to decide whether to build a nuclear power plant in the country.

The voting took place on October 6 of last year. Kazakhstanis were asked to respond to one question: "Do you agree with the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan?" To express their position on this matter, citizens needed to mark either "yes" or "no" by placing a check or cross next to one of the two answer options.

According to the Central Election Commission, the voter turnout was 63.87%, meaning that over 7.8 million Kazakhstanis participated in the voting. The number of votes in favor of the positive decision was 71.12%, or 5,561,937. The number of citizens who voted against was 2,045,271.