Submit to the National Assembly a special mechanism for investment in the construction of the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Plant Project

Apply turnkey contract form

Authorized by the Prime Minister to summarize the content of specific mechanisms and policies, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that the Government proposed to allow simultaneous implementation of work on negotiating agreements and agreements with partners in parallel with the process of preparing documents and approving adjustments to investment policies and approving investment projects.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien. (Photo: DUY LINH)

Regarding the selection of investors and contractors, the Prime Minister assigns investors to implement projects; applies the form of turnkey contracts and designated contractors for turnkey packages for the construction of main factories with contractors in the Intergovernmental Agreement or Contract.

At the same time, apply the form of direct bidding/shortened direct bidding for important consulting packages to establish, examine, evaluate, and assist investors in managing and implementing projects; purchasing fuel, hiring partners for operation and maintenance in the initial period.

The Government also proposed to carry out in parallel, at the same time, some project preparation work (feasibility study survey, technical design, mine clearance, component project implementation...) during the negotiation process of agreements, agreements, and turnkey contracts before approving the investment project.

Regarding the mechanism for financial plans and capital arrangements for project implementation, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said that the Government proposed to negotiate government loans with partners; allow investors to re-borrow without bearing credit risks; use increased revenue sources, save budget expenditures and other legal capital sources; investors are allowed to use loans from government/enterprise/project bonds and some other mechanisms to have enough counterpart capital to implement the project; Arrange state budget capital to implement migration and resettlement projects.

In addition, the Government also submitted a mechanism for applying technical regulations, standards, and norms; norms and unit prices; and a mechanism allowing investors to exempt themselves from reporting procedures to the owner's representative agency for consideration and approval of investment projects and capital mobilization plans.

Along with that, the mechanism and policies for Ninh Thuan province to implement the project of compensation and resettlement of nuclear power plants; develop infrastructure to serve the construction of nuclear power plants; ensure the supply of materials for project construction; ensure social security for people in the project area, are also included in the Government's proposal.

The Government also submitted a mechanism on procedures for approving the policy of changing forest use to other purposes for items related to the Project and its component projects; handling overlaps in national mineral reserve areas; handling overlapping planning (if any) during the implementation of the Project; and a mechanism for conducting consultation on environmental impact assessment reports.

"Other necessary mechanisms and policies will be specifically studied to synthesize and report in the dossier submitted to the National Assembly to adjust the investment policy of Ninh Thuan nuclear power projects. During the project implementation, if new issues arise or these mechanisms and policies need to be amended or supplemented, the Government will continue to study and report to the National Assembly for consideration and decision," said the Minister of Industry and Trade.

Thorough, comprehensive assessment of potential risks

Through examination, the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology and Environment agreed that there should be some specific mechanisms and policies to speed up the construction of the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant.

The appraisal agency noted that the Government needs to direct the review and thorough and complete assessment of potential risks in order to take measures to prevent and minimize risks, ensuring safety and effectiveness for the Project.

Chairman of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Le Quang Huy. (Photo: DUY LINH)

Regarding the approval time, the Government proposed to put the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project into operation in 2030. The review committee found that, according to international experience, it takes about 8 years to complete a nuclear power project (3 years of preparation, 5 years of construction). The project is very large in scale, implemented for the first time in Vietnam, requiring large resources; in the coming time, it is expected to implement many other important projects. Therefore, it is recommended to carefully study and supplement solutions to ensure the goal of completing the project.

Regarding the proposal to select a contractor, Chairman Le Quang Huy expressed the opinion of the appraisal agency that applying the turnkey bidding package is reasonable to speed up the implementation progress of the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project.

However, this form can lead to limited competition, the risk of group interests and lack of transparency in the implementation process. It is recommended that there should be clear regulations on the conditions of application, criteria for selecting contractors, and additional mechanisms to strictly control contract terms, especially commitments on technology, maintenance and technology transfer after project completion.

Regarding financial plans and capital arrangements, the appraisal agency proposed to study and consider specific regulations on mechanisms for EVN and PVN in the draft resolution.

Scene of the meeting on the morning of February 14. (Photo: DUY LINH)

Regarding the mechanism to ensure the level of counterpart capital, the Committee on Science, Technology and Environment requested the Government to clarify and affirm that the revaluation of assets to supplement equity capital, the retention of all remaining after-tax profits to supplement counterpart capital... is entirely for the implementation of the nuclear power project, not for any other purpose.

"There are suggestions that there should be strict regulations on loan limits, interest rates, repayment terms and other related binding conditions...; there should be solutions to control the use of loans to ensure proper purposes and effectiveness," informed Chairman Le Quang Huy.

In addition, according to the reviewing agency, the draft Resolution does not have specific mechanisms and policies for human resources (training, treatment, attracting human resources, etc.) because this is a special industry, requiring high expertise and qualifications, and potentially dangerous. Without appropriate human resource policies, it will be difficult to proactively implement and operate projects in the short and long term; or mechanisms and policies on land and planning to facilitate site clearance.

At the same time, it is necessary to study and consider adding mechanisms and policies to give maximum priority to domestic enterprises that meet the implementation requirements and quickly form a scientific and technological team, moving towards mastering each stage and each technology in the shortest time, the appraisal agency stated its opinion.

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