* RCA (Regional Co-operative Agreement)

November 25, 2009

Vietnam - first nuclear power plant construction to begin in 2014

The National Assembly of Vietnam passed a resolution today tasking the government with issuing legal documents, technical standards for construction, management and operation plans for the plants, ensuring security and safety, issuing reports about the project's effects on the environment, resettlement plans, and investing in the infrastructure of the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, to include two sites in the central province of Ninh Thuan with a combined production capacity of 4,000MW. The US$10.8-billion project is expected to be producing power in 2020. Unit 1 will be built at a site in the province's Thuan Nam District. Unit 2 will be in the Ninh Hai District.

No timeline was specified for the unit 2 work.

The projects are expected to require foreign financing, perhaps involving 85% of the cost. Vietnam has signed nuclear cooperation and assistance agreements with Japan, France, China, South Korea, Canada and the USA. Westinghouse, AtomStroyExport, Electricité de France, and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group have been involved in discussions about supplying nuclear plants to Vietnam. South Korea has also expressed an interest in the project.

* [2006-05-25] Vietnam hosts seminar on nuclear radiation safety
Kieu Huong, Thanh Nien Daily

* [2006-05-15] Nuclear power exhibition planned tomorrow in capital
Viet Nam News

* [2006-05-12] Viet Nam's first nuclear power plant to open in 2017
Viet Nam News Agency

October 20, 2005

Vietnam will build a nuclear plant, perhaps 2,000-4,000 MW

Vietnam will build a nuclear power plant, according to Vice Director of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VAEI) Le Van Hong at a press briefing held at the end of a two-day Vietnam-France seminar on civil nuclear technology on Wednesday. "Only nuclear power can help Vietnam ensure energy security while at the same time solve problems relating to environmental pollution," Hong noted. He reported that a pre-feasibility study on the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Vietnam is underway, adding that it is designed to have a capacity of 2,000-4,000 MW and be capable of generating 14-28 billion kWh a year.

[Source: VNA, "Nuclear power plan to help Vietnam ensure energy security", Thai Press Reports, October 21, 2005]

August 10, 2005

* Argentina to boost relationship with Viet Nam
Vietnam Agency, Vietnam Economic Times

The Vice Foreign Minister of Argentina, Garcia Moritan, visited Viet Nam. He and Viet Nam's Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan agreed that the two nations should increase cooperation in a variety of areas, including nuclear energy use for peaceful purpose. They agreed the relationship should be enhanced through more high-level contacts, which began from the first official visit to Argentina by President Tran Duc Luong in November last year.

November 12, 2004

Vietnam sees need for nuclear plant, envisions domestic fuel cycle

Construction of the country's first nuclear power plant with a capacity of between 2,000 MW - 4,000 MW is part of a plan to develop electricity in the 2004-2010 period, according to Associate Professor - Doctor Vuong Huu Tan, Director of the Vietnam Nuclear Energy Institute, in an interview with a Vietnam News Agency correspondent. The plan, he said, was passed by the Government on Oct. 5. A new Law on Electricity was approved by the National Assembly on Wednesday. The law includes a a power development policy. Nuclear power plants should be considered due to restrictions in tapping available domestic energy sources. Experts have considered the exhaustion of all hydro- and thermo-electric power plants and new energy sources such as wind and sun, and power saving policy. However, a shortage of electricity will still occur in the future, he said. By 2015, the country will lack eight billion kWh, which will increase to 36-65 billion kWh by 2020, 119-188 billion kWh by 2030 and 200-340 billion kWh by 2040.

Vietnam will need to import fuel for the first phase of these plants' operation. Part of the fuel production process can be done during the localisation of this industry. Uranium deposit is a potential factor for the production. The development of nuclear power will facilitate the development of infrastructural facilities and the training of groups of scientists, technicians, and skillful and disciplined workers. It will also help develop research agencies and industrial and construction industries, thus meeting the requirements of industrialisation and modernisation.

[Source: Asia Pulse, "Vietnam Plans To Build Nuclear Power Plant", November 12, 2004 3:22 pm ET (subscription required)]

March 23, 2004

Vietnam eyes first nuclear power plant to open in 2015-2020 timeframe

Vietnam is now building a strategy on developing atomic energy, including the opening of its first nuclear power plant either in central Ninh province or Phu Yen province some time between 2015 and 2020. The country currently has a 500-kW research reactor at the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute, with a workforce of three assistant professors, eight doctors, 30 masters and 82 engineers. The head of the institute, Nguyen Nhi Dien, said that Vietnam would expand research subjects, improve the quality of radioactive isotopes, and train a highly-skilled labor force for the national atomic energy industry and for development and peace purposes.

Dien said the country will further research into developing nuclear power in the same way it does at the existing Institute, which could be relocated in Hanoi or one of the southern provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, or Binh Phuoc, or in another part of central highlands Lam Dong province. Vietnam may need at least $100-200 million for a new reactor producing 10-20MW, and more than 600 workers. The country, however, will need more time and international help and experience to continue with its move, local experts said.