Russia to fire up VN's nuclear power prospects

A two-day Forum of Nuclear Industry Suppliers, or ATOMEX Asia, opened yesterday in HCM City. - Photo: VNA

On its agenda are strategic partnership between Russia and Viet Nam in nuclear power, future prospects of nuclear power in Southeast Asia, the importance of nuclear power for Viet Nam's socio-economic development, requirements for bidders, localisation ability in nuclear power, personnel training, and ensuring public acceptance of atomic energy.

"The need for diversifying power sources is very high in Viet Nam to meet increasing demand," Hoang Anh Tuan, director general of the Viet Nam Atomic Energy Agency, said in his opening speech.

"In the near future Viet Nam will have nuclear power, and so we have to prepare carefully."

Ian Hore-Lacy, a senior research analyst at the World Nuclear Association (WNA), said, "Demand for nuclear power will double due to global warming and its sustainability and safety."

In 2010 Viet Nam signed an agreement with Russia to build a nuclear power plant with two 1,000MW reactors in the central province of Ninh Thuan.

Next year 200 Vietnamese engineers will join their 150 colleagues already in Russia to learn about the construction and operation of nuclear reactors at Russia's State Nuclear Energy Corporation, or Rosatom, the major contractor for the Ninh Thuan plant.

The number of engineers will later increase to 1,000.

In late 2011 Rosatom, representing the Russian Government, signed an agreement to build a nuclear science and technology centre in Viet Nam.

"Nuclear power development is a long-term national strategy to meet the increasing power demand, reduce dependence on imported energy, limit environmental pollution from fossil fuels, and promote development of science and technology," Nguyen Cuong Lam, deputy general director of the Viet Nam Electricity Corporation (EVN), which will build the Ninh Thuan Plant, said.

At the forum, suppliers spoke about their technologies and products, the bidding system, and current nuclear laws.

ATOMEX is an annual event organised by Rosatom since 2011 to create a place for global nuclear power suppliers to talk and co-operate with each other.

Rosatom is the biggest company in the world in terms of reactors installed, with nine in Russia and 21 others around the world. The latter number is set to climb to 80 in the next 15 years.