The Week in Kazakhstan: Atomic Race

Kazakhstan’s government officials and Russia’s Rosatom executives launched the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant on August 8 in the village of Ulken, near Lake Balkhash. Almasadam Satkaliyev, the head of the Atomic Energy Agency, said the total cost of the project could reach $15 billion (more than previously forecast) and that the Russian nuclear energy monopolist would also spend an additional $1 billion for the construction of social facilities and modern infrastructure.

During a press conference on August 7, Timur Kosymbayev, head of the monopoly regulator, confirmed the plans of the government to increase utility tariffs by 20-30% per year. Within the framework of the “Tariffs for Infrastructure” policy, the additional proceeds should be used to modernize heating and electricity infrastructure. A detailed modernization plan, however, will only be made public by the end of the year, deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said.

The North Caspian Operating Consortium won on August 1 an appeal against a multibillion dollar environmental fine that a Kazakhstan court had imposed in 2023. The 2.3 trillion tenge ($4.2 billion) fine was imposed for allegedly improper sulfur storage at the field. The ministry of ecology said on August 8 that they plan to further appeal the case. Kazakhstan’s government and NCOC are also embroiled in a complex arbitration case about costs and contract terms.

The OPEC+ group of oil exporting countries agreed on August 3 to increase production quotas across its members. While Kazakhstan’s quota will increase, so will its output, which is likely to continue to exceed the amount agreed with OPEC+.

National oil company Kazmunaigas said on August 4 that it sent a batch of crude to Hungary using, for the first time, the Croatian port of Omišalj. Kazmunaigas and Hungary’s oil company MOL agreed to trade 85,000 tons as a trial shipment, which originated from Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

Minister of energy Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on August 1 that Kazakhstan is negotiating with Russia the possibility of expanding its pipeline capacity by 25% to allow for more Russian oil to be shipped to China. In recent years, Russia has used almost all of Kazakhstan-China pipeline capacity.

Annual inflation continued at 11.8% in July, the Statistics Committee said on August 4. After slowing down at the beginning of the year, inflation has picked up again and reached its two-year maximum last month, also at 11.8%. Observers say that inflation could now stay in double figures in the medium term.

The National Security Committee said on August 4 that it had detained former deputy minister of transport Satzhan Ablaliyev. He is suspected of having received a bribe. Ablaliyev has served as deputy minister since October 2023.

The family members of Alimnur Turganbai, who was detained by Chinese border guards on July 23, have not heard from him since, an August 4 report at Freedom for Eurasia said. Turganbai, who obtained Kazakh citizenship in 2017, worked as a truck driver between his native Ili province in China and Central Asia. Kazakhstan’s government has not reacted so far to the family’s request for action.

Civil activist Bibigul Imangaliyeva was put in jail for 10 days on August 7 for having violated the law on peaceful assemblies. In April, Imangaliyeva recorded a video in support of convicted political activist Marat Zhylanbayev. Last week, human rights lawyer Bakhytzhan Toregozhina was fined for her public support towards Zhylanbayev, whose health is deteriorating.

Video platform YouTube restored on August 6 the Just Journalism channel belonging to investigative journalist Lukpan Akhmedyarov. YouTube had suspended the channel on July 18 after a number of complaints of music copyright abuse. Akhmedyarov replied in several appeals that his channel does not use copyrighted music and claimed that the complaints were made to order.

Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov signed on August 7 a media law that expands state control over independent outlets. The new law requires all media outlets, including online platforms, to register with government agencies. A measure that observers say could put any and all independent media under threat of closure. [Read more here.]