Vietnam has signed an intergovernmental agreement with Russia's Rosatom to construct the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant, reviving an atomic energy program that was shelved a decade ago amid cost concerns and safety fears following Fukushima.
The agreement, signed this week, commits Rosatom to building two reactors with a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts at a site in Ninh Thuan Province, approximately 350 kilometers northeast of Ho Chi Minh City. First power is targeted for the early 2030s, with the facility expected to supply roughly 8 percent of Vietnam's electricity demand by 2035.
The project was originally approved in 2009 as Vietnam planned for rapid industrialization and urbanization. But the National Assembly canceled it in 2016, citing the $27 billion price tag, public anxiety after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and an abundance of cheaper coal-fired power.
What changed? Vietnam's electricity demand has grown by an average of 8.5 percent annually since 2016, far exceeding projections. The country now faces regular brownouts during peak demand periods, and climate commitments have made new coal plants politically untenable. Meanwhile, renewable energy—primarily solar and wind—has proven intermittent and insufficient for baseload power in the country's humid, typhoon-prone climate.
"Nuclear is no longer optional—it is necessary," a Ministry of Industry and Trade official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We cannot meet our development targets and climate goals without a reliable, low-carbon baseload source."
The Rosatom deal places Vietnam alongside Indonesia and Singapore in ASEAN's nuclear club, a group that is rapidly expanding as the region confronts the collision of rising electricity demand, climate pressures, and energy security concerns. is also reconsidering its long-dormant nuclear plant, which was completed in 1984 but never operated.
