November 23, 2024

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Doosan Enerbility’s head of marketing Jungkwan Kim (right) poses for a photo with Kazakhstan's Minister of Energy Almassadam Satkaliyev at an MOU signing ceremony held at the firm’s headquarters in Changwon on Wednesday. (Doosan Enerbility)

Doosan Enerbility has signed an agreement with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy to help modernize the country’s power infrastructure, the Korean nuclear power plant builder announced Thursday.

The memorandum of understanding was formalized during a Wednesday visit by Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Almassadam Satkaliyev to Doosan’s headquarters in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. Accompanying the minister were senior officials, including the heads of Kazakhstan’s nuclear and international cooperation departments. Jungkwan Kim, head of Doosan’s marketing division, welcomed the delegations.

The memorandum marks a critical step in Kazakhstan’s push to upgrade its power industry, more than half of which consists of fossil fuel plants over 30 years old. Roughly 80 percent of Kazakhstan’s power capacity comes from fossil fuels, heightening the need for modernization.

Following the signing, the Kazakh delegation toured Doosan Enerbility’s production facilities, including factories manufacturing the APR1400 nuclear reactor components and 380MW-class gas turbines.

Kazakhstan’s government has also set ambitious goals for carbon neutrality by 2060, with plans to build two nuclear reactors in the Ulken region -- a move supported by over 71 percent of voters in a recent national referendum.

“Doosan Enerbility’s carbon-free technologies, such as nuclear power, small modular reactors and gas turbines are ideally suited for Kazakhstan’s energy plants,” Kim said. “We look forward to deepening our cooperation to help the country meet its carbon neutrality goals and secure its energy security.”

Doosan’s presence in Kazakhstan has grown in recent years. Last year, the company signed a 1.15 trillion won ($834,000) contract to build a combined cycle power plant in Shymkent. During South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to Kazakhstan in June, Doosan Enerbility signed further agreements with state-owned energy companies Samruk-Kazyna and Samruk-Energy.

By Park Li-na (linapark@heraldcorp.com)