The deal between state nuclear agency Kazatomprom and the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG) calls for the creation of a joint venture to build power plants for energy-hungry China, the Kazakh firm said in a statement.

"National atomic energy agency Kazatomprom and CGNPC signed a memorandum regarding the creation of a joint enterprise to build atomic energy stations in China," Kazatomprom said.

Zhou Zhenxing, general manager of the uranium subsidiary of CGNPC, said that under the terms of the deal the Chinese company would receive the uranium shipments over the next decade, the Interfax news agency reported.

"A long-term contract has been signed on uranium sales from 2008 to 2020 for a total volume of 24.2 thousand tonnes," Zhenxing was quoted as saying, during his visit to Kazakhstan's financial centre Almaty for the signing.

The two companies have been working together on nuclear energy issues since signing an initial cooperation deal in 2006, but Wednesday's agreement appears to be their first direct transaction for nuclear fuel.

Neither side gave the total value of the sale.

Kazakhstan holds almost 20 percent of the world's uranium reserves and aims to be the world's number one producer by 2010, overtaking Australia and Canada.

Last year Kazakhstan extracted around 8,500 tonnes of uranium and in 2009 it plans to extract 11,900 tonnes, according to Kazatomprom.

China, driven by its booming economy over the last decade, has been actively building up its atomic energy generation capacity as a means of meeting growing domestic consumption.

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