At a meeting of the Science, Technology, and Environmental Committee of the National Assembly last Thursday, Deputy Trade Minister Cao Quoc Hung said that the construction of Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant would not begin this year as originally planned, reports Thanh Nien.
To ensure “the highest safety precautions,” work on the four-reactor, 1,000 megawatt plant in the south-central province Ninh Thuan will be pushed back until 2020 or 2022.
Construction of the plant, once started, will be built over 6 years by Russian utility and energy company Rosatom as part of master plan to construct 7 others by 2030 with help from South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States.
Last October, American Secretary of State, John Kerry and Vietnamese Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, signed an agreement on nuclear technology and nuclear fuel for civilian purposes.
Referred to as the 123 Agreement, it provides a legal basis for nuclear cooperation between the two countries.
According to the World Nuclear Association, Vietnam has considered nuclear power generation since 1995.
By the looks of things, it may have to wait a little while longer.
