Kazakh President Says Country Needs Nuclear Power Plant

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Sputnik) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on Friday that his country needs a nuclear power plant, and the issue should be analysed in detail.

"In my address to the Kazakh people, I directed that the possibility of creating a nuclear energy sector in Kazakhstan should be comprehensibly explored. It is necessary to adequately assess the needs of the state, citizens and businesses. Personally, I think that it is time to analyse this issue in depth, as Kazakhstan needs nuclear power plant," Tokayev said in a video speech at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia's Vladivostok.

In February, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom expressed its willingness to construct a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has a record of using nuclear energy. In 1973, the world's first fast neutron reactor BN-350 was launched on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea. Part of the thermal power of the reactor was used to generate electricity, while the rest went to the desalination of seawater. This power unit operated until 1998, which was five years longer than the design period.

The sixth edition of the EEF, running from September 2-4 at the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, is aimed at developing business ties and attracting national and international investors to Russia's Far East.