Nuclear plant technology offered

Representatives from the company last week visited Vietnam to present information on the ATMEA 1 reactor technology that they have proposed be used for Vietnam’s second nuclear power plant in central coastal Ninh Thuan province.

“We know Vietnam is in the final stages of selecting technology for its second nuclear power plant. The Japanese government has advised ATMEA1 as suitable to this project,” said a senior officer at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) last week.

MHI officers and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry officials met leaders from Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment and Ministry of Industry and Trade last week for the same purpose.

The ATMEA1 reactor is designed using innovative, proven nuclear technologies from France’s AREVA and MHI, ATMEA’s parent companies. According to MHI, the ATMEA1 reactor also benefits from extensive in-house production capacity and the high manufacturing reliability of these two leading nuclear power suppliers.

“Vietnam is one of two important markets we are focusing on to introduce this technology,” said the senior Mitsubishi officer, adding that the other is Turkey.

He said MHI had taken experience from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan three years ago, and implied that it was able to build a safe nuclear power facility in Vietnam.

To ensure national power security, Vietnam is planning to build several nuclear power plants nationwide.

Two years ago the government decided to choose Russia’s Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation to build the 2,000-megawatt Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant. The government planned to start construction on the project in 2014, but finally decided to delay construction to ensure safety. The new timeline has not yet been set.

The government is now in the preparation phase for site clearance and training the labour force for the Ninh Thuan plant.

According to Decision 906/QD-TTg, released last year by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung regarding the plan for nuclear power development through 2030, Vietnam plans to build 14 nuclear power reactors with a total capacity of 15,000-16,000MW, accounting for 10 per cent of the country’s total electricity capacity by that time.

The nuclear power plants have been proposed to be located in eight locations in five central provinces including Ninh Thuan, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Quang Ngai and Ha Tinh.

Source: VIR