Kazakhstan to build Nuclear Power Plant

    Kazakhstani and Russian officials have agreed to build a nuclear power plant near Aktau, newskaz.ru reported March 30. The first of two units is scheduled to go online in 2016, according to officials of state-owned Kazatomprom.
    Officials from both countries signed an agreement on peaceful nuclear co-operation in Astana March 30.
    Kazakhstani officials are considering use of the VBR-300 reactor design, Deputy Minister of Industry and New Technologies Duysenbai Turganov said, according to Ferghana.ru. The government will review its approach to nuclear power generation after the Fukushima disaster in Japan, he said.
    From 1972-1999 Kazakhstan operated the Shevchenko nuclear power station, but it later converted the facility to natural gas, according to Central Asia Online.