Exclusive Interview

Exclusive Interview

Vietnam’s “Atomic Renaissance”: views of Vietnamese and Russian experts on the prospects for the implementation of the Ninh Thuan 1 NPP project. Interview with Nguyen Minh Ngoc by Anna Tishina

Mr. Nguyen Minh Ngoc,
specialist adviser on nuclear energy

August 29, 2026

On March 23, 2026, Russia and Vietnam signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant (NPP) with two VVER-1200 power units with a combined capacity of 2,400 MW, according to the Russian project. This topic has already been covered in a PIR Center analytical note by Danil Khryapin, a specialist in Indonesia and Southeast Asian countries, titled “The revival of Russia’s Ninh Thuan 1 NPP project in Vietnam: a step towards developing Rosatom’s presence in Southeast Asia”. The research work is commented by Nguyen Minh Ngoc, a specialist adviser on nuclear energy. The expert also describes Vietnam’s technological capabilities for increasing electricity generation, evaluates the prospects for the introduction of low-capacity nuclear power plants, and compares the training systems for nuclear power specialists in Russia and Japan.

The interview was conducted by Ms. Anna Tishina, PIR Center intern.

Anna Tishina: Today, the issue of the construction of the Ninh Thuan 1 NPP in Vietnam is widely covered against the background of increased cooperation with Russia in the field of nuclear energy. PIR Center published an analytical note by Danil Khryapin, a specialist in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, on the topic “The revival of Russia’s Ninh Thuan 1 NPP project in Vietnam: a step towards developing Rosatom’s presence in Southeast Asia”. In his work, the author writes about the resumption of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation’s activities in Vietnam in the nuclear energy sphere and remarks that a change in the main supplier of nuclear technologies for Vietnam is unlikely, given the long-term cooperation between Russia and Vietnam. Does Vietnam have any other partners?

Nguyen Minh Ngoc: The Ninh Thuan 1 NPP project is being implemented in strategic partnership with Russia. Vietnam’s other partner is Japan, with which the construction of the Ninh Thuan 2 NPP was planned, but Japan has announced the termination of its participation in the project. Nevertheless, the Japanese ambassador to Vietnam said that the country had only abandoned the position of a general contractor, but wanted to participate in the construction of a nuclear power plant. South Korea is also active, evolving into a competitor to Japan in the Ninh Thuan 2 project.

Anna Tishina: In Danil Khryapin’s research paper, it was noted that “to ensure the declared pace of economic development, the country needs to annually introduce 8,000-10,000 MW of new generating capacity.” In your opinion, how can Vietnam enhance electricity generation? Are nuclear power plants alone sufficient for this?

Nguyen Minh Ngoc: The Communist Party of Vietnam has set an annual GDP growth target of 10% or more for the period from 2026 to 2030. This means that the rise in electricity consumption will also amount to at least 10% per year. In this regard, Vietnam has found peaceful nuclear development as a solution to the problem of electricity shortage. Alternative energy sources – wind, solar – depend on the weather, have very low capacity and are not suitable for operation in an industrial area. Therefore, they are used only for household needs. Only nuclear power plants are powerful enough to generate electricity, for example, for metal industry, and allow for its increased generation. There is a second way – a pumped storage hydropower plant. It has two reservoirs: the upper and the lower one, which distinguishes it from a hydroelectric power station. On the premises of the Ninh Thuan 1 NPP, it has already been planned to build the Bak Ai pumped storage hydropower plant with a capacity of 1,200 MW. There is also a technical problem with respect to stabilizing power transmission lines since if a nuclear power plant needs to be suspended for maintenance, the voltage drops, and it needs to be maintained in the national grid. Thus, pumped storage hydropower plants and other options are emergency sources for nuclear power plants. For the VVER-1200 reactors, which are projected to be used in the creation of power units for nuclear power plants, the service life totals 60 years, and in the future the service life is expected to increase to the level of 80 to 100 years. In this regard, the safety criterion always comes first, and calculations must be accurate and prove this safety. 

Anna Tishina: Touching upon the problem of the lack of human resources in the nuclear field, Danil Khryapin points out that “the gap between the stated figures and reality is almost 2,000 people.” At the same time, specialists are trained both in Russia and in Japan. In your opinion, what is the difference between specialized training in Russia and in Japan, and what advantages does Russia have?

Nguyen Minh Ngoc: There is indeed a problem of training personnel in the nuclear energy sphere in Vietnam right now. In Russia, more than 400 people have been educated on the basis of Tomsk Polytechnic University and National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in the period from 2017 until the present moment. There are slightly fewer of them in Japan, but there are also hundreds, not dozens, as the author indicates in his piece of work. Also, a small part of specialists studied in France and the USA. The main difference between studying in Russia and in Japan is that Russian training is more practice-oriented, as it is based on the experience of working with students not only from Vietnam, but also from Turkey, Egypt, China, India, Bangladesh, Iran, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. After studying in Russia, they adapt to work faster than after studying in Japan. Russia both trains and guarantees technology transfer within the framework of the project itself. Japan is not a technology-owning country, so it only trains specialists to operate nuclear power plants. There are only three countries in the world that have a peaceful atom technology: Russia, the United States and France. Japan and South Korea, for example, borrow technologies, buy patents and licenses from different countries, and hire professionals to operate power facilities, which is very expensive.

Anna Tishina: Vietnam’s regional neighbor, Indonesia, has been negotiating with Russia on the construction of a floating nuclear power plant. Does Vietnam perceive small-scale nuclear generation as promising for itself?

Nguyen Minh Ngoc: Small modular reactor nuclear power plants (SNPPs) are of interest in Southeast Asian countries. For example, Russia and Laos have signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear energy, and, most likely, Laos will choose a land-based SNPP for construction, while Indonesia, for example, is interested in a floating design for transportation by sea.

The issue of the SNPP construction raises the problem of high cost of implementation and the need to monitor nuclear safety measures. For example, Vietnam has the island of Phu Quoc, which is comparable in area to Singapore. It is unique since it has virtually all the natural resources and sources of electricity on its territory for the development of tourism, production and fisheries in the future. Vietnam plans to hold the APEC summit there in 2027. The island probably won’t have enough electricity for this, but the authorities of Kien Giang province will not be able to create an SNPP without the support of the central government, especially given the financing and security requirements. In addition, the SNPP technology has been under development. The only functioning example of VVER technology is Russia’s floating nuclear power plant “Akademik Lomonosov”. Rosatom is currently conducting a project aimed at constructing an SNPP in Yakutia, but it will be possible to talk about economic efficiency only 3 to 5 years after launching when the power facility enters commercial operation and begins to supply electric current to the national grid for money. It is also necessary to take into account reactor downtime during unloading, cooling and reloading of fuel. Moreover, an SNPP should have two reactors since the second one is used to provide for its own needs, for example, pumps for the cooling process. Thus, for a comprehensive assessment of this entire cycle, it takes several years to calculate the total cost and determine the economic efficiency of operating such facilities.

Anna Tishina: The analytical note reveals examples of cooperation between other Southeast Asian countries – Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar – with foreign partners in the field of nuclear energy. At the same time, while Indonesia and Myanmar are more focused on cooperation with Rosatom, the Philippines and Malaysia are cooperating with American, Korean, Chinese and French suppliers. Will the choice of cooperation with the Russian side cause friction between Vietnam and other ASEAN countries? How do you assess Vietnam’s position in the nuclear energy sector among other countries in the region?

Nguyen Minh Ngoc: There will be no friction between the countries, as Rosatom has enormous advantages. Russia has gone far ahead in the development of the peaceful atom. It is the only country that not only virtually possesses all lines of peaceful atom technology, but has also practically completed the development of closed fuel cycle. In Vietnam, Russia is implementing a comprehensive Ninh Thuan 1 NPP project using the EPC contract scheme (engineering, procurement and construction). Russia also requires that the production of spare parts and maintenance of nuclear power plants should be localized in the country where the nuclear power plant is situated, with an increase in the share from 20-30% to 70-80%. Japan, South Korea, France, or the United States have never proposed such a thing. For example, unlike the American Westinghouse Electric Company, Rosatom also provides nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants and then takes the spent fuel for storage and reprocessing; gas and liquid waste are immediately processed and released under control. All this is highly appreciated in partner countries. In addition, the price offered by Russia is about one and a half times lower than the South Korean one.

Regarding Vietnam’s position among other Southeast Asian countries, Bangladesh should be singled out. The Rooppur NPP is being built here with the support of Rosatom. Nuclear fuel loading has already been completed at the plant, and the country has by now commissioned the first power unit of the Rooppur NPP on April 28, 2026. In Vietnam, although the project started in 2009, nothing has been built yet, so the country faces the challenge of catching up with Bangladesh.

Anna Tishina: Thank you for providing detailed answers about the Vietnamese side’s vision of the potential for cooperation with Russia and highlighting the technical aspects of the construction of nuclear power plants. What other comments would you like to give on the analytical note? In your opinion, have all the risks and problems been covered in the material?

Nguyen Minh Ngoc: In his work, the author reveals a topic that is relevant for Vietnam today since the creation of a nuclear power plant will guarantee uninterrupted energy supply to the country’s growing economy. Concurrently, it is worth mentioning that the intergovernmental agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant, signed on March 23, 2026, cannot be seen as a starting point for creating a regulatory framework and conditions for cooperation with Russia, as in the first half of the 2010s, work was carried out on basic design within the feasibility study, although no technical design was produced. At the same time, I would like to underline that, although the agreement has been signed, it is necessary to determine the loan and contract sum as well as to coordinate and sign a payment scheme for interest repayment through the Ministries of Finance of both countries. From my perspective, the cost of the project indicated by the author in the paper is not entirely reasonable. It is essential to understand that as a result of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the IAEA has significantly revised safety standards, which increases the cost of building nuclear power plants.

It should also be borne in mind that electricity is a key factor in the economic development of the ASEAN countries, which are clients of Rosatom (Russia), TEPCO (Japan), KEPCO (South Korea), Westinghouse Electric Company (USA) or EDF (France). At the stage of clarifying the details of the agreements and concluding cheaper deals between the contracting states, competition arises for the most profitable contractors.

In addition, Vietnam will take out loans if necessary since high interest rates – that is, the economic factor – became the official reason for the suspension of nuclear power plant construction in 2016. Furthermore, I would note an inaccuracy in terminology. Danil Khryapin wrote, “The Leningrad NPP was chosen as the prototype of the future Vietnamese power plant.” However, in the professional community we call it a “reference power unit”, not a “prototype”.

Keywords: Vietnam; the Ninh Thuan 1 NPP; Russia; Rosatom; SNPP

RUF

E16/NOS – 26/08/29