HANOI, January 16, 16:37 /ITAR-TASS/. The declared beginning of the construction of Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant with the participation of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom is postponed for several years, a Russian expert who took part in the negotiating process on the NPP-1 project implementation, told Itar-Tass on Thursday.

“Apparently, the beginning of the NPP construction will take place in several years, not in 2014, as it had been earlier planned. It has been caused by the Vietnam legislative procedure peculiarity,” the expert said. “Negotiations on the project implementation stages are very actively conducted. Russian experts are determined to accelerate the project implementation pace, but the Vietnamese side needs more time to settle all the internal questions linked with the NPP creation,” the expert explained.

According to him, Vietnam pursues a responsible policy in the sphere of the peaceful atomic energy industry development and pays the main attention to ensuring its safety. At present, Vietnam is completing the formation of the legal framework, creation of technical infrastructure and is expanding the training of skilled personnel for the implementation of the NPP construction program.

Hanoi has rather ambitions plans for the development of the atomic energy industry in the country. In accordance with the strategy approved by the Vietnamese government, by 2030 Vietnam intends to build and put into operation 13 NPP units with the total capacity of 15 GW, which will make about 10 percent from the total electricity generated in Vietnam. It was planned to complete the construction of the first Vietnamese NPP with the participation of Russian experts by 2020.

In addition, to the NPP, Rosatom will build in Vietnam the Centre of Nuclear Science and Technology that will house a new research reactor, as well as a number of laboratories and special complexes.