Kazakhstan approves localisation plan for nuclear industry through 2030

Kazakhstan is trying to turn uranium strength into industrial control. With a government-approved localisation plan running through 2030, Astana is signaling that its first nuclear plant at Ulken is meant to seed a domestic supply chain, not just add a reactor to the grid.

The Comprehensive Plan for Developing Localisation in the Nuclear Industry for 2026-2030 was approved by the government on May 14 and was developed by the Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Agency with Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants LLP, interested central government agencies, and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs Atameken. The document is a clear sign that Kazakhstan wants local firms, local labor, and local services pulled deeper into the country’s nuclear buildout.

That matters because the first plant is already moving from paper to ground. Rosatom was selected on June 14, 2025 to lead construction of Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant, and engineering surveys at Ulken in the Almaty Region near Balkhash Lake began on August 8, 2025. Kazakhstan has framed the project as more than a procurement decision, with the Atomic Energy Agency saying the country will be the sole owner and operator of the plant and will control the technological processes and uranium fuel production.

The localisation push fits that larger sovereignty argument. Kazakhstan’s referendum on October 6, 2024, produced 71.12% support for nuclear construction, with turnout at 63.66%, giving the government political cover to move forward. The longer-term strategy, meanwhile, is even broader: the Atomic Energy Agency says Kazakhstan sees at least three nuclear power plants operating by 2050, with a possible fourth plant under consideration.

That multi-plant horizon is what gives the localisation plan real weight. Recent reporting has put Kazakhstan’s local content target at about $4.5 billion tied to nuclear plant construction, a scale that would force work in civil works, component supply, logistics, maintenance, and specialist services to be organized around domestic participation. For reactor vendors and fuel-cycle players, that points to a market where access will increasingly depend on willingness to transfer know-how and work with Kazakh suppliers.

The question is whether the strategy can move from political ambition to industrial reality. Kazakhstan already has the uranium base, but turning that into a durable ecosystem of engineering, fabrication, regulation, and nuclear services will take time well beyond one plant at Ulken. The new plan shows Astana is thinking in decades, not contracts, and it wants the first reactor to open the door to a domestic nuclear industry that can keep growing long after the concrete cures.