Nuclear power project in Ninh Thuan delayed due to economic situation

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The Minister, the Head of the Office of Government, Mr. Mai Tien Dung at the press conference. Photo: Huong Diu.

The project for construction of nuclear power plants in Ninh Thuan was approved by the National Assembly in Resolution No. 41/2009/QH12 of 25 November 2009. The project consists of two nuclear power plants: Ninh Thuan 1 and Ninh Thuan 2; with a capacity of 2,000 MW per plant, to provide electricity to the national system.

However, on the basis of a report of the Government, the National Assembly decided to vote and passed a Resolution to delay this project on 22 November 2016.

The Minister, the Head of the Office of Government, Mr. Mai Tien Dung said: "The cause of the delay is not technology and safety, but it comes from the sombre economic situation of Vietnam today. The nuclear technology of the Russian Federation and Japan to be used in the project is the most advanced technology with a very high level of safety".

Accordingly, compared to 2009 - the time of approval of this project, the current economy of Vietnam has more changes. We still have plenty of power savings and are able to link regional power with neighboring countries in the near future. In particular, the use of renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar becomes more feasible. "On the other hand, Vietnam currently needs large capital for investment and development of infrastructure projects, which boosts socio-economic development, as well as solving the problems of climate change", the Minister, Mr. Mai Tien Dung stressed.

In response to a question from the press related to the impact of the delay of the nuclear power project on the security of the national electricity supply, Mr. Hoang Quoc Vuong, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade said: By 2030, if the project is completed, nuclear power plants will contribute 3.6% of capacity, 5.7% of electricity production to the national electricity system. Thus, this delay will not much influence the security of national electricity supply. Moreover, Vietnam has many programs to develop energy projects in the form of renewable electricity as well as measures to link power from neighboring countries, especially from Lao PDR.

Regarding the influence of the delay on relations with partners such as Russia and Japan, the Government spokesman said that the Government of Vietnam announced the delay of this project to foreign partners at the same time with the announcement to the National Assembly. Although Russian and Japanese partners have expressed their regret, they basically expressed sympathy with Vietnam on this decision. Also, the Governments of Russia and Japan hope to strengthen cooperation and support Vietnam in the field of infrastructure development.

"The Government of Vietnam affirmed that the delay of this project did not affect the strategic partnership with the Russian Federation and Japan", the Minister, Mr. Mai Tien Dung stressed.

Until now, a number of major projects have been implemented such as: power supply system, relocation of migration projects, training and development of human resources for the projects.

Mr. Hoang Quoc Vuong said that the above projects which have been implemented will continue to be used for the target of socio-economic development of Ninh Thuan province. For example, for the power supply system, Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) will hand over to the power company in Ninh Thuan province; the Building Zone will be handed over to the Management Board of Bac Ai whch is the key project of Ninh Thuan province. Nearly 400 students who have gone to Russia and Japan to study subjects related to nuclear power will continue to be trained to serve the needs of nuclear development for peaceful purposes, or participate in operation of other thermal power plants.

China asked to share information about nuclear projects Vietnam has asked China for early cooperation in regular information sharing mechanisms regarding the nuclear projects.

In general, the delay of the nuclear power project has been carefully and deliberately reviewed with the highest responsibility of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the National Assembly and the Government to ensure sustainable development of the country. For this delay, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade has acknowledged that the project has given us profound lessons of the forecast. Thus, we shoud raise the competence of the staff, especially for the team on strategic policies to have better forecasting, which is suitable with the reality.