OREANDA-NEWS. September 15, 2010. Russian guarantees to accommodate Vietnam with a loan for the country’s first nuclear power plant construction

During his visit, head of Russian delegation, General Director of Rosatom State Corporation Sergey Kiriyenko met President of Vietnam Nguyen Minh Triet, held negotiations with Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Wan Fong, Minister of Industry and Sales Vu Huy Hoang, the business program was ended with a meeting with Prime-Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Chairman of the Vietnamese government noted that they should speed up the work on development of the intergovernmental agreement on Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant construction in order to sign it by the end of October, 2010.

Nguyen Tan Dung stressed that the decision to construct the country’s first NPP with the help of Russian technologies demonstrated the trust relations between the two countries as well as tendency for the development of strategic cooperation between Russian and Vietnam.

In his turn, the Head of Rosatom said that that they would finish the plant construction exactly at the time they would fix and at the heist level of quality. Kiriyenko said that during his talk to the Minister of Sales they had agreed on almost all key moments of the intergovernmental agreement between the RF and Vietnam and, Russia, in particular, guaranteed to grant a loan for the nuclear power plant construction.

“In addition, we are ready to guarantee the supply of fresh nuclear fuel for the entire period of operation, and ensure the fuel return for reprocessing, thus solving all the issues of nuclear and radiation safety related to the handling of spent nuclear fuel in the territory of Vietnam. We have also agreed on the establishment of scientific and technological centre for development of the nuclear power industry on Vietnamese territory and have already begun a large program of personnel training. A few days ago we opened such center in Obninsk city, and we hope that the first students and Vietnamese experts will come there for training by October.”

He also noted that E4, Russian company, chosen by IVN Vietnamese Electric Energy Corporation for feasibility study assessment of Vietnam’s first NPP, would start to implement the works at its own expense so as not to waste time, and after that IVN would buy out the results of that work with the help of credit resources. In its turn, a source in Russian delegation provided information that under the reached agreement, in the middle of September the delegation of Vietnamese Ministry of Finance would come to Moscow to negotiate the terms of the loan.

By 2030 Vietnam intents to construct 15 GW of nuclear facilities. For NPP construction there have been chosen eight sites in five provinces: Ninh Thuan, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Ha Tinh and Quang Ngai. Each site can locate from four up to six power units.