Lawmakers in communist Vietnam approved a law on Tuesday allowing it to use atomic energy for civilian purposes and paving the way for its first ever nuclear power plant, an official said.
An official in the national assembly's office confirmed the vote to Agence France-Presse but could not give more details, saying there were 'not many' changes between the law and a draft version published on its website.
According to the draft version, atomic energy would be 'for the purpose of peace and for socio-economic development.'
It also outlines procedures to build nuclear plants to feed into a booming economy whose power needs are rising by more than 15 percent a year.
Vietnamese officials hope a first nuclear power plant could be operational by 2020 with an initial turbine capacity of 1,000 megawatts.
State-run Electricity of Vietnam has said it expects nuclear power capacity to grow rapidly, reaching up to 11,000 megawatts by 2025.
Several countries -- including Japan, France, South Korea, Russia and most recently China -- have expressed interest in helping Vietnam build its first plant in southern Ninh Thuan province.
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