Monday, May 5, 2008

Vietnam legislature to consider first nuclear plan next year

Plans for the country’s first nuclear power plant will be considered by the National Assembly next year if the Nuclear Energy Law is ratified in sessions over the next two months, officials have said.
The National Assembly (NA) will consider the proposed law, which aims to stipulate regulations for the safe use of nuclear energy, in its next sessions beginning May 6.
Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the state-owned energy monopoly, said that if the new law was approved, the utility group would complete blueprints for the nuclear facility this year and submit them to the NA for ratification next year.
The power plant, to be located in the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan, is expected to cost US$3.4 billion.
Planners estimated the facility would generate between 14-15 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) per year.
If all procedures are approved, planners expect construction to begin between 2012 and 2014.
Struggling to meet soaring energy demand, Vietnam plans to buy 3.5 billion kWh from China this year, up 31 percent from 2007, an EVN official was quoted by Reuters as saying earlier this week

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