Petrovietnam, KEPCO accelerate talks for Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear plant

Vietnam's Petrovietnam and South Korea's KEPCO have agreed to speed up discussions on building the Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant. The talks cover technology, investment and financing options, with about 97.5 per cent of required land already cleared.

Vietnam's state energy firm Petrovietnam and South Korea's Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) have agreed to accelerate discussions on building one of Vietnam's first two nuclear power plants, as Hanoi pushes ahead with plans to revive nuclear energy.

Petrovietnam Chief Executive Le Manh Cuong met KEPCO President Kim Dong-cheol in Seoul on Tuesday, where the two sides discussed implementing existing cooperation agreements in the nuclear power sector and agreed to intensify exchanges on technology, investment and financing options for future projects, Petrovietnam said in a statement.

The talks come as Vietnam seeks a foreign partner for the planned Ninh Thuan 2 nuclear power plant, a project that Petrovietnam has been assigned to develop. The Ministry of Industry and Trade said in July that KEPCO was a potential partner following what it described as positive initial discussions with the Vietnamese company.

Petrovietnam said about 97.5 per cent of the land required for the Ninh Thuan 2 project had already been cleared, with remaining work expected to be completed soon, an important condition for advancing the project.

KEPCO highlighted its experience in developing the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates and expressed interest in working with Petrovietnam on an effective implementation model for the Vietnamese project, Petrovietnam said.

Vietnam has already chosen Russia's state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom for the development of the other nuclear power plant, Ninh Thuan 1.