Operating personnel for Kazakhstan’s first NPP will be trained at the Rosatom Technical Academy (TAR – Tekhnicheskoi Akademii Rosatoma). “We will train operating personnel. The number of future trainees will be determined by discussion, somewhere from 1,500 and 2,000 people,” said TAR rector Yuri Seleznev.
Training will begin five years before the physical launch of the station. The construction of the first station is planned to be completed before 2035-2036, after which Kazakhstan will become the sole owner and operator of the facility. In addition, Seleznev noted that TAR will develop and equip a training centre.
A referendum on NPP construction took place in Kazakhstan in 2024, with the majority of voters supporting nuclear development. In June, Rosatom was designated to lead an international consortium for the construction of Kazakhstan’s first NPP. Kazakhstan plans to build at least three NPPs. Subsequently China was selected to lead the consortia which will build the second and third plants. The first plant will comprise two Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors. Construction began on 8 August near the village of Ulken.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is to hold a competition to find the best name for the first NPP. “Based on innovation and high technology, we are building a solid foundation for the country’s development for many decades to come,” said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. “The construction of the first nuclear power plant in cooperation with Rosatom is of strategic importance.
He continued: “Nuclear power plants are not just an energy facility, but a vivid symbol of scientific and technological progress. This object does not yet have a name. Since it is the first in our country, I think it is possible to announce a country-wide competition to find the best name. I ask you to take part and show creativity, maybe one of your proposals will be used when we make a decision.”
