Kazakhstan's Cabinet of Ministers has given the green light to an investment agreement for the construction of a 700-megawatt condensing power plant in the city of Kurchatov, Abai Region. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov signed the corresponding decree, according to infohub.kz.
The project will be implemented by the limited liability partnership "GRES Kurchatov" in partnership with the Ministry of Energy of the Republic. The cost of the new station is estimated at 881 billion tenge. The commissioning of two power units of 350 megawatts each is planned in stages until 2032. Once operational, the facility will be able to generate up to five billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Additionally, the project will create about 4,400 jobs.
The new power plant is intended to become a key source of additional energy for Kurchatov, which hosts the National Nuclear Center, the Nuclear Technology Park, research reactors, laboratories, and the Kazakhstani tokamak KTM. The station will utilize modern steam-power equipment and "clean coal" technologies. To minimize harmful emissions, gas cleaning, filtration, and dust suppression systems are planned.
The project is expected to enhance the reliability of the city's power supply and create additional capacity for the development of scientific, industrial, and urban infrastructure. Earlier it was reported that Kurchatov was considered as a possible site for the country's first nuclear power plant, but later the Ministry of Energy decided to build a coal-fired thermal power plant with a capacity of 700 megawatts there.