Vietnam: special mechanisms and policies for Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power project

During the 9th extraordinary session of the 15th National Assembly, the Vietnamese government recommended special investment mechanisms and policies for the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power project. The aim is to make the power plant operative by 2030 as scheduled. First, the government wants permission to carry out negotiations with partners for an intergovernmental agreement/agreement on state export credit to finance the construction of the plant. Second, it wants permission to allow the Prime Minister to assign investors to implement the project and to proceed with contractor selection immediately after the National Assembly decisions. It also wants to be allowed to conduct direct negotiations with contractors on technologies, environmental reports, safety, and security, and to examine nuclear regulatory compliance during the investment and construction phases of the project. This will probably require the hiring of international consultants because the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) does not have enough resources to carry out the process.
The government recommends starting to work immediately before the investment project approval and applying standards and regulations suggested by the executing partners without undergoing procedures prescribed by Vietnamese laws. Norms and unit prices will be based on negotiations with partners. Finally, the government is seeking permission to give annual supplementary funding to Ninh Thuan province taken from the central budget and amounting to 70% of increased revenue from the deployment of the nuclear power plant. Investors will collect opinions on the project from the public via the information portal of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.