Vietnam plans 14 reactors by 2030

HANOI, VIETNAM - The government of Vietnam recently announced a plan for the construction, commissioning and operation of 14 nuclear power reactors spanning five central provinces in the country within the next 20 years.

As per a government release, nuclear power will contribute to 10 of Vietnam's total installed power generation capacity by 2030.

The plan will be executed in three phases. In the first phase, which will last from 2010 to 2015, the Vietnamese government will approve details related to the investment, location and contractors, and will train managers and technicians for the project.

In the second phase 2015-20, Vietnam will finalize construction plans for the first reactor in the Phuoc Dinh region, which is in the southern province of Ninh Thuan. The 1,000-megawatt MW facility will be commissioned in this phase.

In the third phase, scheduled to last the following 10 years, the government will set up the other 13 reactors.

In 2012, another 1,000-MW facility at Phuoc Dinh will begin operations. Two other units, each with an installed capacity of 1,000 MW, are also being planned there and are due for commissioning in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The government is also planning four nuclear reactors, with an installed capacity of 1,000 MW each, at Vinh Hai in the Ninh Hai district, which also is in Ninh Thuan. Of these, two will be commissioned in 2021 and 2022, whereas the other two are scheduled to be brought online in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

The other locations for the prospective nuclear power plants include the south-central coastal provinces of Binh Dinh and Phu Yen, the central city of Quang Ngãi and the north-central coastal province of Ha Tinh.

Two more nuclear facilities will commence operations in 2026. Each will have an installed capacity of 1,000 MW. In the next four years, one more reactor with an installed capacity ranging between 1,300 and 1,500 MW is expected to be commissioned. Once all the reactors are brought online, the country's total capacity to generate nuclear power will reach 16,000 MW by 2030.

In the last phase of the project plan, the Vietnamese government plans to become proficient in the design technology of nuclear power plants.

Vietnam had approved a plan to develop nuclear power in 2007 and establish 2,000 MW of commissioned nuclear power capacity by 2020, following which it passed a general nuclear law in 2008. In 2009, Vietnam's National Assembly approved a resolution on the policy pertaining to investments planned for the nuclear power sector in the country.

Vietnam has signed nuclear cooperation and assistance agreements with several countries worldwide, including Japan, China, South Korea, France, the U.S. and Canada, among others.

Several international firms have expressed interest in supplying nuclear power plants to Vietnam. These include power company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, leading import-export company JSC AtomStroyExport, Électricité de France S.A. and China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group, which is one of China's largest nuclear power corporations.