Kazakhstan unveils name of its 1st nuclear power plant

A nationwide contest to name Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant has concluded. It was organized as part of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s initiative of August 11, 2025, and took place from September 25 to October 10, 2025, on the eGov Mobile platform, El.kz reports citing the press service of the Atomic Energy Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Following the final meeting of the Competition Commission, «Balkhash Nuclear Power Plant» received the highest number of proposals from citizens.

A total of 27,157 citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan aged 16 and older participated in the contest. Each participant could propose one name.

On September 5, 2025, a Competition Commission was established, comprising representatives of the public, the creative industry, as well as experts in nuclear energy, philology, and history.

Out of all submissions, 10,460 unique name options were identified. Different writing forms - Cyrillic, Latin, and synonymous words were taken into account during processing.

At the Commission meeting, the 100 most popular names were reviewed.

The Commission also determined the plant’s name in Russian and English: “Атомная электростанция «Балхаш»” and “Balkhash Nuclear Power Plant.”