Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom and Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants LLP (KNPP) have signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a new 2,400MW nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan, said a press release.
The agreement for the Balkhash Nuclear Power Plant was signed on September 3 on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum. The project will comprise two reactors, with a combined generating capacity of 2,400MW.
Andrey Petrov, Rosatom’s first deputy director general for nuclear energy and president of Atomstroyexport, signed the contract alongside Ernat Berdigulov, director general of KNPP. The signing ceremony was attended by Rosatom director general Alexey Likhachev and Almasadam Satkaliyev, chairman of Kazakhstan’s Agency for Atomic Energy.
Rosatom, which is leading the international consortium, will oversee the project from design and equipment procurement through construction, commissioning and the handover of the completed plant to KNPP.
The facility will use VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors, a technology that Rosatom says has been developed to meet stringent international safety requirements. Reactors of the same type are already operating or under construction in Russia, Belarus, Türkiye, Bangladesh, Hungary, Egypt and China.
The VVER-1200 reactors are designed for an initial operating life of 60 years, with the potential for a further 20-year extension.
“Building and commissioning power units that meet the highest international safety and efficiency standards will remain our priority at every stage of the project,” Likhachev said.
Site investigation work began in August 2025 and is expected to continue until 2027. Engineers will then prepare the technical documentation required to secure construction permits.
The project is expected to become a major addition to Kazakhstan’s nuclear power capacity as the country seeks to strengthen its electricity supply and diversify its energy mix.