Vietnam's first nuclear power plant - important milestones

Vietnam has achieved many milestones and is gradually completing them so that Vietnam's first nuclear power plant can operate before 2032.

The master plan of Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant is posted right at the project area (Phuoc Dinh commune, Thuan Nam district) for people to grasp information. (Photo: Cong Thu/VNA)

The process of building the first nuclear power plant took a long time, went through many stages, and was marked by many milestones.

Over the past time, Vietnam has achieved many milestones and gradually completed milestones so that Vietnam's first nuclear power plant can operate before 2032, meeting national energy needs and moving towards sustainable development.

Nuclear Science and Technology Research Center - top priority

Professor Pham Duy Hien, nuclear energy expert and former Deputy Director of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute, affirmed that the development of nuclear power has become important and necessary in the context of global energy facing major challenges such as the shortage of clean energy sources, climate change, and increasing energy demand.

Restarting nuclear power projects will help Vietnam diversify its supply sources, ensure energy security and achieve its economic growth target and net zero emissions by 2050 as committed at COP26 - the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

According to Professor Pham Duy Hien, the experience of nuclear developing countries is to research and operate research reactors, from which they build and develop a nuclear industry.

In Vietnam, the Dalat Nuclear Reactor officially operated on March 20, 1984 with a capacity of 500kWt.

Da Lat nuclear reactor. (Photo: Anh Tuan/VNA)

Over 40 years of operation, the Institute's research and development fields have achieved many important results contributing to socio-economic development.

It can be said that the Da Lat Nuclear Reactor is the first step in bringing nuclear energy to Vietnam and the progress in building the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Center Project in Dong Nai will be a milestone for Vietnam to be able to complete the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Plant construction project on schedule.

Therefore, Vietnam needs to speed up the progress of making the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Center with a large-capacity research reactor a top priority item in Vietnam's current nuclear power development program.

Professor Pham Duy Hien said that the completion and operation of the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Center will be the "cradle" for training human resources for Vietnam's nuclear power plants.

Ready for nuclear power project human resource milestone

Mr. Tran Chi Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (Ministry of Science and Technology), said that currently, nuclear science and technology are considered the "backbone" for socio-economic development and national security and defense.

Over the past time, the nuclear energy industry has been "quietly" preparing to strengthen its team and human resources to be ready for Vietnam to restart its nuclear power project.

Restarting nuclear power is not only a strategic decision for national energy security but also contributes to the transition to a sustainable green economy, bringing the country's science and technology to new heights.

To ensure the success of the project, building high-quality human resources is one of the key factors. Recognizing this issue, the Ministry of Science and Technology has had plans to build a team of qualified and long-term staff and experts, especially human resources for managing and implementing the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Center project at different stages.

At the same time, the Ministry has proposed a plan to prepare human resources for safe operation and effective exploitation of the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Center after it comes into operation, as well as to train human resources to build, operate and develop nuclear power plants.

According to Director of the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute Cao Dong Vu, in recent times, the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute (Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute) has implemented many technical support projects and research contracts of the International Atomic Energy Agency and its partners.

The projects focus on areas such as upgrading reactor technology systems and reactor fuel conversion; upgrading and developing equipment for neutron activation analysis and nuclear physics research; upgrading pharmaceutical production technology lines; manufacturing nuclear electronic equipment; promoting research and applications in the fields of radiation technology, biotechnology, radiation safety, radioactive waste treatment, environmental research, etc.

The planned construction area of the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant project in Vinh Truong village, Phuoc Dinh commune (Thuan Nam district, Ninh Thuan province). (Photo: Nguyen Thanh/VNA)

In addition, the Institute also actively participates in other multilateral cooperation such as the Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation, the Asian Nuclear Forum and bilateral cooperation with national laboratories in the United States, India, Japan, Korea, etc.

Every year, the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute coordinates to host many international seminars and specialized training courses, focusing on training courses on radiation safety, reactor technology, application of nuclear techniques in industry and environment, environmental radiation monitoring, response to radiation and nuclear incidents...

Deputy Ambassador Ishikawa Isamu, Embassy of Japan in Vietnam affirmed that in recent times, the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute has devoted much effort and enthusiasm to research on nuclear energy. This effort has played a fundamental role in restarting and promoting the implementation of nuclear power projects.

Topics on nuclear power, nuclear technology, and even small modular reactor (SMR) technology have shown that Vietnam still maintains continuity and is always ready with human resources for nuclear power development./.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/nha-may-dien-hat-nhan-dau-tien-cua-viet-nam-nhung-coc-moc-quan-trong-5041675.html