Almasadam Satkaliyev, head of Kazakhstan’s Atomic Energy Agency, has invited Kazakh citizens working on the construction of Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear power plant to return and work on nuclear projects at home, reported Bes.media.
Satkaliyev met the specialists at the Akkuyu site on November 12. “Any experience will be useful, in construction and in operation, across the whole range of specialities,” he said. “If you have the intention or desire to apply your experience and knowledge in Kazakhstan, we will be glad to see you.”
Kazakhstan plans to build at least three nuclear power plants and to create its own nuclear cluster. In September 2026, the company Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants signed a contract with Atomstroyexport, part of Russia’s Rosatom, to design, equip and build the first plant. A comprehensive staff training plan for 2027–2031 has been approved. Kazakhstan is also studying Russian and Chinese experience and developing cooperation with Hungary and South Korea.
Akkuyu, Turkey’s first nuclear plant, is being built by Rosatom on the Mediterranean coast and has attracted engineers from many former Soviet countries. For Astana, recruiting experienced workers is one of the biggest challenges of its nuclear programme. Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer but has had no operating nuclear power plant since the BN-350 reactor in Aktau closed in 1999.
CentralasianLIGHT.org,
November 12, 2026