Paving the way for Vietnam's first nuclear power plant, Russian nuclear power giant Rosatom said its engineering subsidiary NIAEP-ASE United had signed an agreement with state-owned Electricity of Vietnam.
The engineering plan covers the first construction requirements for the two-reactor Ninh Thuan-1 nuclear power plant, designed for a combined generation capacity of 2.4GW.
Vietnam's energy demand is expected to triple in the next 15 years, according to the World Nuclear Association. PennEnergy reported that the agreement signed in Hanoi is a follow up from a Russian-Vietnamese agreement from the fall of 2010; however, Vietnam has yet to secure a loan of $8 billion from Russia to finance the project, which will employ Vietnamese firms for 30 percent to 40 percent of the plant's construction and supply needs.
The future looks promising for nuclear power in the Vietnamese market. The first facility, using Rosatom's AES-2006 design, will be located in the Thuan Nam district of the Ninh Thuan province in southeast Vietnam on the coast of the South China Sea. There is also an expectation that Vietnam will build 13 nuclear power facilities by 2030.
ASE-NIAEP-AEP general director Valery Limarenko expressed confidence in the partnership for producing “the most efficient generation facility in the country.” The plant will meet all international safety and quality requirements, said Limarenko.