International media cover NPP referendum in Kazakhstan

International media cover NPP referendum in Kazakhstan

This weekend, events in Kazakhstan were in the spotlight of the world media. On October 6, the country held a referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant. Various foreign media outlets featured articles about the referendum process on their platforms.

As reported by the American news agency Bloomberg, Kazakhstan has joined a number of states seeking to utilize a clean energy source to reduce emissions into the atmosphere. The public has supported this decision; according to an exit poll by the Institute of Eurasian Integration, about 72 percent of respondents voted in favor of the construction of a nuclear power plant.

France 24 noted that Kazakhstan is the world's largest producer of uranium and has huge oil reserves but lacks electricity. To eliminate it, the country is set to use nuclear energy.

Meanwhile, the German portal Deutsche Welle quoted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who, on the eve of the nationwide referendum, called the potential NPP construction «the biggest project in the history of Independent Kazakhstan».