The Vietnam Institute of Science and Technology has said the country will tap all available experiences from nations using nuclear power to develop its own plants.

Vietnam is planning to build the first two projects in the southern central province of Ninh Thuan in 2014 with four turbines in total, each with a design capacity of 1,000 MW. They are scheduled to be put into operation in 2020 and 2021.

The country has been warned of an impending shortage of 50 billion kWh of power by 2020, thus pushing it to seek clean power such as nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy is expected to make up between 7 and 9 percent of the national electricity output by 2030 and between 15 and 20 percent by 2050.

Vietnam has selected 10 sites for the construction of nuclear power plants all along the coast line, from the northern central to southern regions. Nuclear piles are expected to use the BWR or PWR-2nd generation technology, with an average capacity of at least 1,000 MW and life span of 60 years. Scientists say the technology is well-tested and is being used by many countries.

The State budget will contribute 75 percent of the investment in nuclear power plants while private investors will put up 25 percent.

In an effort to boost nuclear power development in Vietnam, a scientific symposium was held in Hanoi on Oct. 22 to discuss projects and methods of building nuclear power plants and modern nuclear research centres.

The workshop was conducted under the framework of the Vietnam-Russia inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in nuclear power research for peaceful purposes./.