MOSCOW, May 15 (Itar-Tass) - Russia will build the safest and most advanced nuclear power plant in Vietnam, Director General of the Russian Atomic Energy State Corporatino Sergei Kiriyenko said during his Wednesday’s meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who is now making an official visit to Russia.
In the format of his visit, the Vietnamese Prime Minister met with Kiriyenko to discuss prospects for the construction of Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant and how the two countries plan to develop cooperation in the sphere of nuclear technologies.
“Rosatom is a very authoritative company not only in Russia, but also in the world as a whole,” the Vietnamese guest noted. In his words, the Ninh Thuan-1 NPP will play a very important role in the energy security of Vietnam. “We are very thankful to the Russian side for the credit and aid provided in order to fulfill the project,” Dung said.
“We consider as a high confidence the fact that Vietnam asked us to build the NPP. We will do our best to justify the confidence and build the safest and most advanced NPP in Vietnam,” Kiriyenko said.
Vietnam plans to build the Ninh Thuan-1 NPP with two water-cooled, water-moderated reactors of the VVER type with the capacity of 1,000-1,200 megawatts each. Russia’s Atomstroiexport is the general contractor of the project. The first reactor of the NPP is planned to be commissioned in 2020. The development strategy for Vietnam’s power industry in the period up to 2030 envisages construction of 13 nuclear power units with the overall generating capacity of 15 gigawatts. The power units will be built at eight facilities.
On Wednesday, the Vietnamese prime minister also had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Tuesday, Nguyen Tan Dung had talks with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. During the talks, the two heads of government discussed cooperation in the spheres of investments, energy, including the atomic energy industry, as well as military-technical cooperation and humanitarian interaction.
In the presence of the two prime ministers, Russia and Vietnam signed a package of nine documents, including those on the development of contacts between the two countries’ business structures.
In particular, Russia’s gas giant Gazprom and Vietnam’s PetroVietnam Company inked a memorandum of mutual understanding on cooperation in the production and use of gas a motor fuel on the territory of Vietnam, as well as Zarubezhneft and PetroVietnam signed a memorandum of mutual understanding.
Besides, Zarubezhneft and PetroVietnam also decided to set up a joint drilling company. Simultaneously, representatives of the Zarubezhneft and PetroVietnam companies put their signatures to a contract of intents.
The International Investment Bank and the Vietnamese Joint Stock Commercial Bank for industry and Trade inked a credit agreement. Representatives of the Russian Railways company, the Vietnamese Railways and the Vietnamese An Vien Group put their signatures to an agreement on comprehensive cooperation.
During the meeting, the two sides achieved accords in the sphere of culture, too. So, the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism and Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed a tourism cooperation plan for 2013-2015. In addition, the Lomonosov State University (MGU) and the Hanoi-based State University of Vietnam signed a memorandum of scientific and educational interaction.
Besides, the justice ministries of the two countries agreed to develop cooperation in 2013-2014.