Kazakhstan votes in favour of nuclear power plant construction near Balkhash

More than 70% citizens of Kazakhstan voted in favor of building a nuclear power plant in the republic, the the Kazakh electoral commission reported.

The "Yes" vote won 71.12% in Sunday's referendum and the turnout was 63%, the Kazakh CEC said Monday.

According to the CEC, about 5.5 million of the people voted in favor of building the country’s first nuclear power plant, while just over 2 million voted against.

A referendum on the possibility of building a nuclear power plant was held in Kazakhstan on October 6. The voting closed at 8 pm local time (15:00GMT).

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he preferred an "international consortium made up of global companies equipped with cutting-edge technologies".

The power station will be built near the village of Ulken in the Kazakh steppes on the shores of Lake Balkhash, Central Asia's second-largest lake.