A State Steering Committee for the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant project has been set up with Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai being its head.

Under decision 580/QD-TTg, which was issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on May 4 and took effect on the same day, the steering committee will help the PM instruct concerned agencies in implementing the construction of the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant, which is Vietnam ’s first power plant of its kind.

The committee will be in charge of instructing the examination and overseeing preparatory steps in terms of investment for the construction of the plant and deploy the PM’s decisions concerning the project.

Acting on the PM’s authority, the committee will decide on mechanisms and policies needed to handle specific issues arising during the course of implementation.

The committee will direct relevant ministries and sectors to make legal documents guiding the deployment of the project and ensuring the quality of construction and safety of the plant once it operates in 2020 as scheduled.

Construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant, estimated to cost 3.4 billion USD, will begin in the central province of Ninh Thuan in 2013, according to the Electricity of Vietnam.

As giving top priority to safety and security in developing the application of nuclear energy, Vietnam will establish a national nuclear safety council, which will be responsible for providing consultancy to the Prime Minister to help him and the government settle important issues on nuclear safety.

Vietnam has built and completed a legal basis and a management agency system on control, safety and security in using nuclear materials and radioactive substances.

In the latest move, last March, the country signed with the US a Memorandum of Understanding on nuclear energy cooperation, allowing their relevant agencies to team up in issues regarding human resources, security and safety, reliable nuclear fuel sources and the management of spent nuclear materials and radioactive waste./.