France wants to cooperate, share experiences with Vietnam in nuclear power

France wants to cooperate and share experiences with Vietnam in nuclear power, said French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet at a recent meeting with state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN).

The diplomat highlighted France’s experiences in operating nuclear power factories for a long term, EVN said in a Tuesday statement.

Jean – Alexandre EGEA, head of the economic section at the French Embassy, emphasized the cooperation can help the energy transition in Vietnam.

In reply, EVN general director Nguyen Anh Tuan said EVN, as the investor of Ninh Thuan 1 power plant project, is proceeding with related procedures. EVN highly rates France’s experiences in the field and seeks to learn from France, he added.

In 2005, Vietnam's Party Central Committee had greenlighted a plan to build two nuclear power plants in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan. Four years later, the National Assembly approved the plan with an initial investment of VND200 trillion ($7.9 billion at the current forex rate).

In November 2016, the parliament decided to halt the 4,000 MW project, citing safety, funding and technology reasons. In November 2024, it agreed to resume the nuclear power project in Ninh Thuan after an eight-year suspension.

Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant, Ninh Thuan 1, can operate from 2035 at the earliest, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said in its draft amendment to the power development plan VIII (PDP VIII).

The ministry elaborated that per normal procedures, a nuclear power plant project can take 148 months from investment preparations to operations of its first turbine and 158 months (10 more months) for the second turbine. That means the Ninh Thuan 1 can see its first turbine operate from mid-2037 and the second from mid-2038.

However, the government insisted that the trade ministry must coordinate with relevant agencies to get nuclear power plants built towards completion by end-2030, or end-2031 at the latest.

In addition to France, many countries have expressed their willingness to coooperate with Vietnam in nuclear power, such as Russia, Japan, and South Korea.