Overview

• Kazakhstan plans for a Russian state loan to cover 80–90% of the project, which officials estimate will cost more than $14 billion.
• Intergovernmental consultations with Russia are under way to draft the agreement, and authorities say no other funding sources are planned.
• Rosatom has been selected as lead partner for the project after competing bids from CNNC, EDF and KHNP.
• Engineering surveys began on August 8 in Ulken, Almaty region, to support site selection and project documentation for the first plant.
• Kurchatov has been assessed as potentially suitable by the National Nuclear Center with international experts, though officials say there is no decision to build there and further calculations are being prepared.