Prepare infrastructure for nuclear power plants

As planned, in 2020, Vietnam will officially put into operation the first nuclear power plant, but this plan can only be completed when the preparation of infrastructure for the plant is timely. . Mr. Vuong Huu Tan (pictured) , Director of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Commission (Ministry of Science and Technology) exchanged this issue.

- How far is the preparation of infrastructure for nuclear power plant construction?

- To build a nuclear power plant, we have to prepare a lot of things. Currently, the Ministry of Science and Technology is perfecting the legal system and nuclear safety management agencies, building a system of technical support facilities to ensure the safety of nuclear radiation and development training. human resources, as well as conducting scientific research and technological development activities .

However, this is only a part of a lot of work required to ensure the feasibility of the project. Next, we also have to build a system of technical support agencies, prepare nuclear fuel, prepare financial resources, find solutions to respond to incidents, nuclear radiation accidents . .

- In many parts, what is the most worrying problem?

- That is the issue of training and developing human resources. Nuclear power is a high-tech field, so it requires very strict safety issues, from site selection, design, construction, construction, operation, maintenance and later dismantling. . We must have enough resources for all of these phases. Although we will build the factory according to

method of turnkey contracts with foreign countries, but want to be checked at any stage, there must be experts who are qualified to work at that stage. Currently, the Ministry of Science and Technology is cooperating with high-speed universities to train this team of experts.

- What about financial issues, sir?

- As expected, the first nuclear power plant in our country will be built with a capacity of 2,000 Mwe and a total investment of about 4 billion USD. Currently, mechanisms and policies on finance and investment relate to the development of nuclear power and create conditions for domestic enterprises to invest in nuclear power development, as well as encourage foreign investors. In addition to participating . are being built by the industry. I think, 4 billion USD is a big capital, but when there is a specific policy to attract capital, it is still possible to worry.

- For nuclear power plants to operate well, how will the nuclear fuel problem be solved?

- We will have to carry out two tasks simultaneously, that is to prepare the localization program of fuel production from imported uranium and study the commercial use of domestic resources for the national nuclear power development program. family. In addition, the Atomic Energy Institute is also working with the Rare Radiation Technology Institute to implement a program to ensure a stable supply of fuel for nuclear power plants.

- Sir, perhaps an important issue is to build a system of technical support facilities to ensure the safety of nuclear radiation .?

- In order to build nuclear power plants, a system of non-business units is required to perform the functions of a qualified technical support agency to conduct research on nuclear safety. perform tasks on appraisal, analysis and safety assessment of nuclear power projects. This support system will help advise on issues that arise, provide necessary testing equipment and services, as well as technical analysis to diagnose problems in project implementation . Of course , this non-business unit must be an independent agency, not under the control of the nuclear safety management agency, the construction investor, so that the assessments are objective.