Industry news

Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin met in Astana during the visit of the official South Korean delegation to Kazakhstan, the press service of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan reports.

At the meeting, the head of the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan and the head of the Foreign Ministry of South Korea discussed issues of cooperation in the field of energy.

In order to study in detail the reactor technologies proposed by foreign companies for the construction of nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Energy, together with Samruk-Kazyna JSC, is constantly negotiating with vendors.

In 2022, the Kazakh delegation was on a visit to South Korea, where meetings were held with companies in the nuclear industry. Following the visit, a memorandum of understanding in the field of nuclear energy development was signed with the supplier of nuclear technologies - Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. (KHNP).

In September 2022, a seminar was held in Astana with the assistance of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan by the Korean side, which gave Kazakh experts an opportunity to understand in more detail the technological features of reactors and the experience of implementing nuclear power plant construction projects in the UAE and South Korea.

Also during the meeting of ministers, the South Korean Foreign Minister proposed to consider the possibility of training personnel for the nuclear industry of Kazakhstan at universities in South Korea in accordance with the signed memorandum.

Almasadam Satkaliyev invited Korean companies to participate in the implementation of a number of projects in the electric power industry of Kazakhstan, implemented under the state program «Tariff in exchange for investment». The program provides for measures of state support for the industry to increase the investment attractiveness of the generation sector in return for counter obligations of energy enterprises.

«Currently, projects are being implemented in Kazakhstan to modernize existing power plants, build a new power plant of national importance, and build new thermal power plants in the centers of the country's regions», - The head of the Energy Department of Kazakhstan Almasadam Satkaliyev said during the talks.

The Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan is also working to modernize the National Electric Grid, including strengthening the power system of the Western and Southern zones, connecting the Western Zone to the Unified Energy System of Kazakhstan, providing for the construction of power transmission lines with commissioning in 2028.

In 2023, the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan plans auctions for the selection of renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 860 MW. Auction auctions with a total capacity of 5.86 GW are planned for 2024-2027.

The head of the Kazakh Ministry of Energy invited Korean companies, if interested, to also participate in the implementation of renewable energy projects.

In 2022, South Korea ranked 6th in terms of direct investments in the Kazakh economy, amounting to $ 1.5 billion.