Yesterday (February 17), in Hanoi, during a press conference to introduce the “Strategy for the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy by 2020” (issued in January 2006), Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Thang announced that Vietnam will have its first nuclear power plant by 2020.
According to the Deputy Minister, to apply and develop nuclear energy for the industrialization and modernization of the country, Vietnam will facilitate the promotion of nuclear energy applications and prepare the necessary conditions for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Vietnam with a capacity of approximately 2,000 MW. The goal is to ensure that by 2020, Vietnam will safely operate and effectively utilize the first nuclear power plant.
The Ministry of Science and Technology is currently actively preparing to build a team of nuclear power experts, technicians, and skilled workers trained to meet the demands of the nuclear power plant construction project.
Domestic industries must quickly build their capacity for designing, manufacturing equipment, and producing materials to enhance their ability to participate in the implementation of subsequent nuclear power plant construction projects.
The strategy also sets the goal that by 2020, all needs for radioactive substances will be fully met; all provinces with nuclear medicine and radiation therapy facilities will have various types of nuclear measurement equipment, X-ray devices, laser equipment, and accelerators branded with Vietnam; and some technologies and products of radiation engineering will be widely and effectively applied in socio-economic sectors.
To implement the Strategy for the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy by 2020, in addition to eight groups of solutions, in April 2006, the Ministry of Science and Technology will present the Implementation Plan of the strategy for government approval and will begin to implement the strategy in May 2006.
