Int’l experts see Vietnam’s nuclear plan attainable

Hanoi Times – Foreign nuclear connoisseurs at the October 30 energy exposition had positive opinions o­n Vietnam ’s plan to develop nuclear energy by the year 2020, which they said “based o­n specific roadmaps”.

“It is very likely that Vietnam will achieve its goal of bringing the first nuclear-powered electricity plant as planned by 2020,” Fumiaki Yamamoto, Senior Manager of the Power Systems Company at the Toshiba Corporation assured a Vietnam News Agency reporter. Envisioning nuclear power as a solution to maintaining stable energy supplies and environmental protection altogether, the Vietnamese government has assigned the Electricity of Vietnam corporation to study o­n building a US$ 3.4 billion nuclear electricity plant in southern Ninh Thuan province by 2020.

The plant is expected to help secure energy stability, contributing 14-15 billion KWh every year to the national power grid. Yutaka Ito, International Cooperation and Industrial Development Deputy Manager of Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF), dispelled concerns over the lack of nuclear human resources, saying that in the last 10 years of cooperation, JAIF has provided professional training to around 600 Vietnamese engineers, and this is a “very potential workforce” for the sector.

JAIF is also assisting Vietnam in outlining legal framework for nuclear energy as well as specific regulations o­n nuclear safety. VE EXPO 2007, the first international forum and exposition o­n the development of energy in Vietnam, will open in Hanoi until November 2, with the participation of many overseas and domestic corporations, including nuclear power development companies and agencies from Russia, China and Japan.