Kazakhstan launches construction of Balkhash thermal power plant

A laying ceremony by Balkhash TPP construction was held in Astana using in television space bridge with the participation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

“We give the nod to start the construction,” Nazarbayev said at the ceremony.

He noted that the need for the TPP construction is due to consumption growth resulting in a shortage of electricity in the southern region of Kazakhstan, where 40 per cent of the population resides.

“The industrial development of Kazakhstan is impossible without the construction of plants producing electricity, the deficit of which we always felt in the south. With the end of the construction of this facility, we become non-volatile,” Nazarbayev said.

The president added that the project will contribute to the development of the Almaty region and create new jobs.

Earlier in his message to the people of Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev noted that due to the problem of energy shortage and the release of energy dependency of the southern regions, the government entrusted the government to ensure the start of construction of the first module of the Balkhash thermal power with a capacity of 1320 MW and worth $2.3 billion this year.