Kazakhstan has revised the construction plan for the third unit of Ekibastuz GRES-2, replacing Russian turbines and generators with equipment from Harbin Electric International.

Energy analyst Nurlan Zhumagulov noted on his Telegram channel that the change significantly reduced project costs, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

Deputy Energy Minister Sungat Yesimkhanov said construction expenses dropped from 650 billion tenge to under 400 billion tenge, saving more than 250 billion tenge (~$500 million).

Initially, the project had planned to use Russian technology with a favorable Russian loan, but funding delays and equipment delivery issues prompted the switch to China. In 2024, authorities had considered the opposite approach, intending to expand GRES-2 with Russian equipment.