Lawmakers propose nuclear power research back on track

Vietnam's National Assembly Economic Committee has proposed the country resume research on nuclear power development, given its transition to cleaner energy and commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The committee proposed the government preserve the two sites already earmarked for the Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 nuclear power plants, though these projects were put on hold in 2016.

"We need orientation from the Party, following which we will mull over nuclear power development possibilities and resumption of research on the Ninh Thuan projects," it said in a report submitted to the legislative body.

In 2009, the National Assembly released Resolution 41 on developing nuclear power plants in the south-central province. However, the body decided to stall the two in November 2016.

According to the committee’s latest report, the Ministry of Education and Training had negotiated with Russia on the continuation of nuclear power training for Vietnamese students.

From 2010 to 2018, a total of 447 Vietnamese students were trained there. Six of them are continuing to study and are expected to finish in 2022-2024, while 441 others have finished or stopped studying.

The committee is of the view that canceling the two projects would affect nuclear power development in the future and affect relations with partners.

Some experts recently stated that research on developing nuclear power in Vietnam should be resumed. The country could only achieve its net-zero goal by 2050 if it starts developing nuclear power in the next decade, they argued.