Vietnam’s National Assembly has approved a resolution that would see a resumption of a nuclear power plant project in southern Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan province. The project was first approved in 2009, however, it was abandoned in 2016 on the back of lower demand projections.
Coverage from Dau Tu Chung Khoan notes that the cost was estimated to be VND 200,000 billion in 2009 (This is about US$7.9 billion at today’s exchange rate). In addition, the publication points out that several key issues were raised by the NA including radioactive waste management and community safety, though these do not appear to have been addressed.
It also carries comments from Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien that seem to suggest that the Ministry is not anticipating nuclear power to be operational anytime soon.
“Therefore, nuclear power and new energy sources in the future must definitely exist, but to have them in practice, they must be mentioned in the law right now… Only then will there be a nuclear power project after 10 years,” he is quoted as saying.
Also of interest, Nguoi Quan Sat digs into the technical side of nuclear power breaking down the difference between large scale and small scale nuclear power. It carries comments from the Director of the Center for Energy and Green Growth Research, Ha Dang Son, in which he points out that whether small scale or large scale the process with respect to time and capital when working with international partners is much the same. He goes on to recommend large scale nuclear in the first instance.
See also: Nuclear Power in Vietnam: Unpacked