Vinh Truong Village is the planned location for the Ninh Thuan No 1 nuclear power plant.

People look forward to future nuclear power plants

NINH THUAN (Vietnam News) -- The southern province of Ninh Thuan was chosen to build the first two nuclear power plants in Vietnam and most of the locals agree with the strategic project.
On November 30 last year the National Assembly (NA) passed a resolution agreeing the investment policy of the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project.
The project will restart after eight years of suspension.
Fifteen years ago, in 2009, the project was first approved by the NA with a total capacity of 4,000MW, divided into two plants on an area of 1,642ha in Vinh Hai Commune, Ninh Hai district and Phuoc Dinh Commune, Thuan Nam district.
Locations chosen for the Ninh Thuan No 1 and 2 nuclear power plants had been carefully surveyed and evaluated by domestic and foreign consulting units, who determined that they are the best locations which meet all necessary criteria.
However, in 2016, the NA issued a resolution to temporarily suspend the project due to many reasons.
Looking forward
At the relaunch of the project, local people expressed their excitement and high consensus for the common benefit of the country.
They hope that the project will soon be deployed and put into operation.
Nguyen Van Thang, Head of Vinh Truong Village, Phuoc Dinh Commune, where the Ninh Thuan No 1 nuclear power plant is due to be built, said, when hearing about the restart, he and the people in the village all agreed and supported it.
“This is a major, necessary and extremely important policy for the development of the nation. We hope that the project will be implemented synchronously soon, and expect that it will bring about strong changes and growth for the locality and the country in the new period,” said Thang.
Vinh Truong Village has 310 households with 1,000 people, with the villagers mainly working in aquaculture and fishing.
Thang hopes that when the project is restarted, the Government will have appropriate resettlement and job conversion policies to stabilise the people’s lives.
Thai An Village in Vinh Hai Commune, where the Ninh Thuan No 2 nuclear power plant is being built, is a famous grape and garlic growing area of Ninh Thuan province.
Those plants have brought local people a prosperous and comfortable life for generations.
Director of the Thai An Grape Cooperative Nguyen Khac Phong said: “Fifteen years ago, I agreed and supported the policy of building nuclear power plants and this time is the same. I think simply that all are for the common development of the country and also feel proud because my locality was chosen to build a very large project of the nation”.
But Phong and many others are concerned about whether the new resettlement location will be better than what they have currently and whether any new jobs will be as good.
Because local people have worked the land for generations, it is very fertile, thanks to grape and garlic growing.
In addition, over recent years they have seen a growth in local tourism, with people excited to invest in expanding production and businesses.
“Therefore, when giving up land for projects to move to new places, people really need proper attention from the State,” said Phong.
Announcing details at a press conference at the end of last year, the Ninh Thuan provincial Party Committee said that more than 90 percent of people in the planning area for the Ninh Thuan No 1 and 2 nuclear power plants agreed with the project.
They hope the plants will soon set up a specific roadmap for when things will happen and select highly qualified contractors to ensure safety and have suitable support policies for them.

(Latest Update January 28, 2025)