HANOI: The Vietnamese government has been urged to look into the possibility of restarting its nuclear power projects as the country aims to achieve a net-zero emission target by 2050.
Its National Assembly's Economic Committee said in a report that many countries regarded nuclear power as a clean type of energy with low greenhouse gas emissions after the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26).
Therefore, it said Vietnam should consider reviving its plans to develop nuclear energy to ensure energy security and independent economic development.
According to a Vn Express report, the ruling Communist Party has been urged to approve the move and the government should consider restarting the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Project, which involves two nuclear power plants.
Plans to build Vietnam's first nuclear power project was stopped in 2016 after the parliament said the country could not afford it then.
Seven sub-projects had already started then with a total investment of over VND2.3 trillion (US$99.01 million), and nearly 450 students and engineers were being trained by Russian and Japanese experts.
The committee said the proposed location for the plants should be maintained as selecting the right location for nuclear projects was a long and costly process.
The report said if the Ninh Thuan project was scrapped completely, it would be difficult for the country to develop the technology in the future and relationships with partner countries would suffer.
Several experts have also said that reviving the nuclear energy development plans would help meet the demands of the country's growing economy.
Meanwhile, the Express reports that two lawmakers have opposed the move on safety grounds.
Ho Chi Minh City representative Truong Trong Nghia told the National Assembly that the projects should be scrapped altogether.
"We can make a new plan in the next 10 or 20 years if we want to develop nuclear power."
He pointed out that more than 10 years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan had still not completely dealt with the aftermath despite being a developed country and using nuclear power for a long time.
He added that Vietnam's ability to control the risks was very low.
Another lawmaker, Dang Thi My Huong from the Ninh Thuan province, also agreed that Vietnam should abandon such plans as the people were concerned about the plants.
He said although the land earmarked for the nuclear plants remains unused, locals who own them cannot use or sell them either.
The debate over Vietnam's first nuclear power projects resurfaced this year after it made a commitment at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said the earlier decision was only to suspend the construction of the plants and did not cancel them altogether.
The location in Ninh Thuan was thoroughly studied by Russian and Japanese experts, who assured it is the best place to build nuclear power plants, he said.
To achieve the net-zero target, he said Vietnam needed to utilise renewables such as solar and wind power, but the country needed a stable source of power to ensure adequate supply.
Nuclear power is clean and affordable while coal can no longer be used and the country has reached its maximum hydropower capacity, he added.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told the Vn Express last week that the nuclear energy option needs to be carefully studied and he was waiting for directions from the Communist Party politburo.