Recently, the Vietnamese government has once again turned its attention to the development of nuclear power, planning to restart this long stalled project to meet the country's growing energy demand and promote the transition to clean energy, helping to achieve the ambitious goal of net zero emissions by 2050. According to an internal government document cited by Reuters, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade is actively studying international nuclear power development experience and preparing specific recommendations for developing nuclear power domestically in Vietnam.

As an important economy in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, leading to a sharp increase in its demand for energy. However, for a long time, Vietnam's electricity supply has been highly dependent on coal power generation, which not only exacerbates environmental pollution problems but also limits its pace of transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Therefore, the Vietnamese government has begun actively seeking a diversified energy structure, and nuclear power, as a clean and efficient form of energy, has naturally become a key consideration.

The document states that the Vietnamese government's goal is to maintain an annual power generation growth rate between 12% and 15% to fully ensure national energy security and support an annual economic growth rate of approximately 7%. To achieve this goal, nuclear power is considered a crucial link. The Vietnamese government began exploring the possibility of developing nuclear energy as early as the 1980s and signed cooperation agreements with Russia and Japan in 2010, planning to build two nuclear power plants in the southern province of Ninh Thuan. These two nuclear power plants were originally scheduled to be put into operation in 2020 and 2024 respectively, but due to budget constraints and changes in the international nuclear safety situation, especially the 2016 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, the Vietnamese parliament ultimately decided to indefinitely postpone the construction of these two nuclear power plants.

However, with the increasing global demand for clean energy and the transformation and upgrading of Vietnam's own economic structure, the Vietnamese government has once again put the development of nuclear power on the agenda. It is reported that the Ministry of Industry and Trade will conduct in-depth research on the development experience of nuclear power in other countries, especially those that have successfully achieved safe and efficient operation of nuclear power, in order to build a nuclear power development system that is in line with Vietnam's own national conditions.

Despite the many advantages of nuclear power, its safety has always been a global concern. The Vietnamese government will prioritize nuclear safety when restarting its nuclear power development plan, strengthen cooperation and exchanges with the international community, and jointly address the challenges brought by nuclear power development.

At present, the proposal for the development of nuclear power in Vietnam has been submitted to the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Vietnam for review. Although the specific timetable has not been announced yet, this news undoubtedly injects new vitality into Vietnam's energy sector.