ALMATY, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant (NPP), set to begin construction next year, will meet around 20 percent of the country's current electricity demand, the Kazinform news agency reported Thursday.
The plant is expected to generate about 19.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Designed to operate for 60 years, and with the option of two 20-year extensions, the project has a potential service life of 100 years, said Almassadam Satkaliyev, chairman of Kazakhstan's Atomic Energy Agency.
An agreement outlining cooperation on the construction of the country's first NPP, including a Russian state export credit to help finance the project, was signed on May 28 in Astana, the country's capital.
Preliminary estimates put the cost of building the plant's two power units at about 14.4 billion U.S. dollars, with an additional 2 billion dollars allocated for physical security systems and related social infrastructure.
Major construction work is set to begin in 2027, and the first reactor unit is expected to enter operation in 2034, Satkaliyev said. Enditem
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