During a recent state visit by Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev and
an accompanying delegation, the official news agency announced that Kazakhstan
would like to supply Vietnam with nuclear fuel for the production of energy and
also hopes to cooperate in the development of Vietnam's oil and gas industry.
Hanoi has already made deals with Russia and Japan to support its nuclear
development plans (although the agreement with Japan has yet to be ratified by
the
Japanese parliament). In November, the government announced that it will invest
three trillion dong (around US$143 million) in upgrading its human resource
capabilities in the sector.
Using Russian help, Vietnam plans to build its first nuclear power plant in 2020
– it hopes to have 14 operational power plants by 2030 and has pledged the
investment to ensure that it is able to build, manage, and maintain the
facility when
it opens. Training will be offered to 2,400 engineers and 350 academics and
industry experts through cooperation between Hanoi's Ministry of Science and
Technology and the International Atomic Energy Agency .
Most of the funding for the project will come from Vietnam's stage budget, with
a smaller amount being invested by Electricity of Vietnam , the state's power
supplier.
For more news and expert analysis about Vietnam, please see Vietnam Focus.
© 2011 Menas Associates