Vietnam: Nuclear plans afoot

During a recent state visit by Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev and an accompanying delegation, the official news agency announced that Kazakhstan would like to supply Vietnam with nuclear fuel for the production of energy and also hopes to cooperate in the development of Vietnam’s oil and gas industry.

Hanoi has already made deals with Russia and Japan to support its nuclear development plans (although the agreement with Japan has yet to be ratified by the Japanese parliament). In November, the government announced that it will invest three trillion dong (around US$143 million) in upgrading its human resource capabilities in the sector.

Using Russian help, Vietnam plans to build its first nuclear power plant in 2020 – it hopes to have 14 operational power plants by 2030 and has pledged the investment to ensure that it is able to build, manage, and maintain the facility when it opens. Training will be offered to 2,400 engineers and 350 academics and industry experts through cooperation between Hanoi’s Ministry of Science and Technology and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Most of the funding for the project will come from Vietnam’s stage budget, with a smaller amount being invested by Electricity of Vietnam, the state’s power supplier.

For more news and expert analysis about Vietnam, please see Vietnam Focus.

© 2011 Menas Associates