Minister of Industry and Trade: Proposing Japan to support Vietnam in building nuclear power

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Plant Project will soon be restarted. Therefore, he asked Japanese enterprises and universities to support Vietnam in selecting technology and developing human resources for nuclear power.

On the afternoon of December 20, in Japan, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and the Ministry's delegation had a working session with a group of Japanese businesses and universities to discuss promoting cooperation in nuclear power development between Vietnam and Japan.

Nuclear Power Plant Project in Ninh Thuan to Restart Soon

At the meeting, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien affirmed, nuclear power is a green and sustainable source of electricity, which is increasingly being chosen by many countries. There have been some accidents in nuclear power plants in history, but in terms of probability, they are extremely low. Moreover, current nuclear power technology is much more advanced than previous technology.

In Vietnam, after 8 years (since 2016) of suspending the Nuclear Power Plant Project in Ninh Thuan, the Vietnamese National Assembly recently resolved to continue implementing the project investment policy to meet the urgent electricity consumption demand that is forecast to continue to increase.

Therefore, developing nuclear power sources will diversify supply sources, ensure energy security and green energy transition, helping Vietnam achieve the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 as committed at COP26.

Nuclear Power Plant construction site in Ninh Thuan. Photo: Xuan Ngoc

At the same time, implementing the nuclear power project is also an opportunity for the country to develop high-quality human resources, enhance national science and technology potential, and participate in the global nuclear power industry supply chain.

“The Vietnamese Party and Government advocate selecting only the best nuclear technologies, partners, and training human resources to safely and effectively operate the country's energy projects,” Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized.

He also informed Japanese business and university partners that the Vietnamese National Assembly has just passed the revised Electricity Law, which includes provisions related to the development of nuclear power. The Government has also approved the draft and will report to the National Assembly to amend the Law on Atomic Energy. This is also a basis related to technology and safety issues in the development of nuclear power.

Furthermore, Vietnam has other legal systems related to investment, construction, safety, environmental protection... All of these legal bases create a foundation for Vietnam to soon restart the nuclear power plant construction project.

To build a nuclear power plant in Vietnam in the coming time, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that the Ministry will work with the Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN) and the locality to review and supplement the planning of the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project.

“This could be completed soon because the project itself has existed before and Vietnam is just restarting the project,” he said.

In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will preside over ministries and branches to advise on the development and issuance of decrees and circulars to guide the implementation of this project. At the same time, it will continue to recommend the Government to review and consider assigning EVN as the investor of the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that the Government reported to the competent authority to re-negotiate with Japan to sign an agreement according to the old commitment, continuing to provide technical, technological and financial support.

Meanwhile, the investor EVN urgently reviewed and updated the project adjustment information to submit to the competent authority for approval. After having the investment policy for the new project, the investor will select a project construction consulting unit to submit to the competent authority for licensing.

EVN will also review the number of personnel trained in Japan. If they are still qualified and willing, they will continue to retrain and plan to train new personnel. The Vietnamese Government and relevant ministries will make efforts to ensure that these tasks are carried out according to the set roadmap.

Emphasizing that Vietnam has no experience in building nuclear power plants, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien affirmed that international cooperation on nuclear energy is an important solution to mobilize resources, shorten time and reduce investment costs.

Promote cooperation in technology and human resources

Japan is a developed country with the world's leading advanced technologies. Japan itself has a lot of experience in building, operating and handling incidents related to nuclear power plants. In addition, the Japanese companies present at this meeting are all prominent representatives among Japanese energy companies. Accordingly, the Minister proposed that Japan coordinate, advise and support Vietnam in developing nuclear power.

In particular, Vietnam is most concerned about the story of technology selection, with the prerequisite of ensuring safety and preventing incidents. Before being selected, technologies must ensure common safety standards, meet the recommendations of international organizations and especially the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Therefore, he suggested that Japanese companies introduce modern, safe technologies for Vietnam to consider, evaluate, and select applications for both the construction and operation of nuclear power plants.

Recognizing human resources as one of the important factors contributing to Vietnam's successful construction and operation of nuclear power plants, the Minister hopes to cooperate with Japanese enterprises and universities in training and developing human resources related to this field in the coming time.

He also suggested that Japanese businesses, universities, and related associations in the field of nuclear power human resource training will soon exchange with the Vietnamese side to build high-quality human resource training programs.

“During the 7th meeting of the Vietnam-Japan Joint Committee on Industry, Trade and Energy held on the afternoon of December 19, the Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan discussed and officially requested Japan to continue supporting Vietnam in implementing the nuclear power plant construction program and proposed many cooperation contents.

One is to cooperate in sharing to perfect the policy mechanism for nuclear power development in Vietnam.

Second, cooperate to select the best technology for the first nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan based on Japan's experience.

Third, cooperate in training and retraining human resources to implement the nuclear power plant project in Ninh Thuan.

Fourth, review the Vietnam-Japan Intergovernmental Agreement on funding for the nuclear power plant project in Ninh Thuan. Minister Nguyen Hong Dien informed.

He also expected that Japan would support and cooperate with Vietnam on the basis of mutual benefit, for the development goals of each country, for common goals such as "net zero emissions by 2050" and worthy of the comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries.

Source