Country rejected earlier proposals in 2016 on cost grounds
Vietnam’s prime minister Pham Minh Chinh has told the National Assembly in Hanoi that his government had asked authorities to restart nuclear power projects, according to local press reports.
Chinh said this was to “ensure enough power for fast and sustainable socio-economic development in the long run”.
“If we aim at building an economic growth scenario with double digits, power needs will increase by 1.5 times,” he was reported as saying.
Government officials said last month that Vietnam plans to amend its national power development programme to include options to develop nuclear power.
In 2009 Vietnam had planned to build two nuclear power stations with a combined capacity of about 4,000 MW in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan, but the National Assembly rejected the proposal in 2016 on cost grounds.
At the time, Hanoi chose Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and Japan Atomic Power Company to build the stations, and signed a deal to borrow $8bn (€7.02bn) from Russia for building the first facility. Construction was initially scheduled to begin in 2014.
Earlier reports have said that Vietnam was considering a return to nuclear power after 2035 with the construction of about 1,000 MW of capacity by 2040 and 5,000 MW by 2045.
Reuters said Vietnam officials have discussed “small, modern nuclear reactors” with countries including South Korea, Canada, and Russia.
