The Kazakh energy minister, Vladimir Shkolnik, has told parliament that Kazakhstan is preparing an international tender to build a new nuclear power plant in cooperation with Russia. Mr Shkolnik said more details needed to be discussed with Moscow before the plan could be put out to tender. The proposed $2bn plant would be built at Lake Balkash some 400 kilometres north-west of the main city, Almaty. Kazakh environmentalists are opposed to the plan saying the country still has to clear huge amounts of nuclear waste from the Soviet era. They say Kazakhstan can buy any extra energy requirements from neighboring countries. (BBC)