Authorities carried out hundreds of nuclear tests on Kazakhstan's steppes during the USSR era, overlooking the environmental and health impact.

Many in Kazakhstan -- also the world's leading uranium producer -- are sceptical of introducing nuclear into the country's energy mix.

"Whether or not to build a nuclear power station is an extremely important question and impacts the future of our country," President Kassym Jomart-Tokayev said.

"That's why I propose asking it in a nationwide referendum. The exact dates will be decided later," he said in the address opening the school year.

It would be the first such referendum in the authoritarian state where ballots are seen as formalities with pre-decided outcomes.

The World Nuclear Association says Kazakhstan is the world's leading uranium producer, accounting for 43 percent global production last year.

"On the one hand, Kazakhstan as the biggest uranium producer in the world should have its own atomic generator," he said.

"But on the other hand, many citizens and experts have concerns about the safety of atomic stations. This is understandable, given the tragic legacy of the Semipalatinsk nuclear polygon," Tokayev said.

Moscow used a huge region in northern Kazakhstan -- known as the Semipalatinsk Test Site -- between 1949 until 1989.

Around 1.5 million people are estimated to have been exposed to high levels of radiation during the tests. Regions close to the site still record higher cancer rates.

Russia is a leading exporter of nuclear power and its atomic agency Rosatom has been involved in the construction of plants in several developing economies, including neighbouring ex-Soviet Belarus.