The Kazakh government has issued a Resolution on March 27, 2025, regarding the transfer and allocation of a land plot within the territory of the former Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site in the Abai region, reports Zakon.kz.
According to the document:
- A 71.37-hectare land plot from reserve land within the former Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site will be reclassified as industrial, transport, communication, defense, national security, and nuclear safety land.
- The land will be leased to Altyn Group Qazaqstan LLP until December 31, 2028, for the development of the Ulken Karashoky deposit.
Additionally, the company must compensate the state budget for losses in agricultural production caused by the withdrawal of farmland for non-agricultural purposes.
Background on Semipalatinsk Test Site
Altyn Group Qazaqstan LLP specializes in the extraction and production of precious metals.
The Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS) was the first and largest nuclear testing ground of the Soviet Union. Following Kazakhstan’s independence, President Nursultan Nazarbayev officially closed the site in August 1991.
Between 1996 and 2012, Kazakhstan, Russia, and the United States conducted a classified operation at the site—without notifying the IAEA—to collect and dispose of approximately 200 kg of plutonium left from past nuclear tests.
Due to the persistent high radiation levels, Kazakhstan had delayed development in the former test zone for many years.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
March 31, 2025