On the morning of 21/8, authorized by the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan submitted a proposal to the National Assembly regarding the separation of the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project into independent projects.

The government stated that separating the project is necessary to ensure legal grounds, procedures, and investment processes. This approach also allows for flexible and timely handling of issues for each project, without interdependency or delays.

Therefore, the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project could be separated into three independent projects: the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant project, the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant project, and the compensation, support, and resettlement project.

After separation, these projects would inherit and utilize previously approved data and work results for continued implementation.

The government reported this to the National Assembly for consideration and resolution at its ongoing first extraordinary session.

Reviewing this proposal, Ta Dinh Thi, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Science, Technology, and Environment, stated that the committee generally agrees on the necessity of issuing the resolution.

According to the committee's report, the Politburo approved the policy to address difficulties and obstacles in project implementation, which included separating the projects into independent entities. Under Resolution 41/2009, the National Assembly approved the investment policy for the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project, comprising two plants. However, there is currently no legal basis to establish these as independent projects. Each project has different investors, timelines, and investment methods, complicating investment procedures.

Therefore, the reviewing agency believes that separating the project will create a legal basis for each investor to carry out investment procedures. This will also clearly define the objectives, scope, capital sources, investment methods, and timelines for each project.

However, the committee requested the government to review and be responsible for ensuring that the project separation does not affect the implementation process, and avoids creating new bottlenecks between the old policy and new investment decisions.

Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan at the National Assembly session on the morning of 21/8. Photo: National Assembly E-portal

At the end of 2024, the National Assembly resolved to continue the Ninh Thuan nuclear power investment policy, after an eight-year suspension.

In 2/2025, the government assigned Vietnam Electricity (EVN) as the investor for the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power project, while the second plant is managed by Vietnam National Energy Group (PVN). Each plant will have two units. The Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant is located in Phuoc Dinh commune, Khanh Hoa province (formerly part of Thuan Nam district, Ninh Thuan). The Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant is located in Vinh Hai commune (formerly part of Ninh Hai district, Ninh Thuan).

Regarding the compensation, support, and resettlement project, the government stated that the Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee (UBND) approved sub-projects 1 and 2 for resettlement and site clearance for the two nuclear power plants.

To date, the province has largely met the land requirements for project implementation. Resettlement infrastructure projects are being implemented concurrently with compensation and site clearance, ensuring resettlement arrangements are in place before land acquisition.

Anh Tu