Vietnam, Russia speed up nuclear power plant progress
A delegation from the Russian State Duma’s Energy Committee held a working session on July 17 with leaders of the central province of Ninh Thuan on measures to speed up construction of the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant.
The project, undertaken by Rosatom Corporation, is slow going due to objective reasons from both sides.
According to an agreement signed earlier between the two countries, Russia will begin capital disbursement for the project in 2014. However, the plant’s technical engineering design is yet to be approved, hindering the pace of implementation.
In addition, the fact that no specific agency has been named to take charge of the project’s execution is also a problem.
Secretary of the Binh Thuan provincial Party Committee Nguyen Chi Dung said the project has won approval of local people, but the delay could arouse concerns among the population which would not be in the interest of the project in the long term.
He urged the Russian consultants to early define the location and boundary of the project so that the province can select suitable plans to relocate local residents.
The Russian side affirmed they will do their best to implement the project on schedule, adding that a university in Voronhez province, where there is an operating nuclear power plant, is ready to sign a partnership with Ninh Thuan province to train human resources for the Ninh Thuan 1 plant.