Kazakhstan eyes Korea as potential partner as nuclear power plant referendum set to begin

Kazakhstan could eye Korea to become a partner for a nuclear power plant deal if a referendum on the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the central Asian country, which takes place on Sunday, passes.

Mukhtar Yerman, Secretary of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Kazakhstan, left, and Konstantin Petrov, Deputy Director of the CEC, speak during a press conference for foreign correspondents at the CEC headquarters in Astana on Saturday. [LIM JEONG-WON]

ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan may see Korea as a partner for building a nuclear power plant if a Sunday referendum on the construction of the Central Asian country's first nuclear power plant passes.

Kazakhstan, the largest country by land mass in Central Asia, currently lacks the energy infrastructure to handle the demand from its growing industries. In recent years, frequent power outages have occurred.

In response, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s administration proposed a referendum on building a nuclear power plant in 2019, officially announced in September last year.

Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) is one of the four candidates for building the nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan if the referendum passes, along with companies from France, China and Russia, according to the Kazakh government and the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul.

In July this year, the Czech government selected a Korean consortium comprising KHNP, Doosan Enerbility and Daewoo Engineering & Construction as the preferred bidder for an estimated 24 trillion won ($17.3 billion) project.

As the referendum requires a majority vote with more than half of registered voters participating to pass, the government of Kazakhstan is focusing all efforts to ensure a comprehensive and fair voting process across the country and even abroad for Kazakh nationals living in other countries, according to the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC).

“This referendum can be considered a vital and significant part of our agenda, keeping with our constitutional tradition,” said Mukhtar Yerman, secretary of the CEC, during a press conference for foreign correspondents at the CEC headquarters in Astana on Saturday. “Meeting with foreign correspondents means that our campaign for a nuclear power plant can be considered an open and transparent process.”

Preparatory processes for the referendum began in earnest this year, with active information for Kazakh citizens for the day of voting being provided since September. The referendum is a classic voting for one day without early voting, with most polling stations opening from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the CEC. Special polling stations for those with different working shifts and military personnel will be available from 6 a.m. on Sunday.

A total of 10,323 polling stations in Kazakhstan and 74 abroad will accommodate more than 12 million voters.

The Kazakh government has also invited 177 accredited international observers representing 30 foreign states, including four major international organizations, to observe the referendum's voting process, Yerman emphasized.

The Embassy of Korea in Astana is also working closely with relevant parties in Kazakhstan to promote the Korean bid for a nuclear power plant if the referendum passes, said Korean Ambassador to Kazakhstan Cho Tae-ick.

“There are four candidates currently, with KHNP one of them, and we have been in touch with Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) every quarter regularly,” said Cho, referring to the subsidiary of Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund. “We are continuously promoting Korea’s capability related to nuclear power plants, emphasizing that we have always delivered on time and that we could be a reliable partner to Kazakhstan in these terms.”

The results of the referendum on Sunday will be announced the following day.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]