The main focus of activity is at the initial power plants at Phuoc Dinh and Vinh Hai in Ninh Thuan province. In June 2010 the Vietnamese government issued a master plan covering Ninh Thuan 1 & 2 power plants with a total of eight 1000 MWe-class reactors. Since then intergovernmental agreements have been signed with Russia and Japan for the first two power plants. As part of this, a large number of students have been undertaking training in Russia and Japan.
Discussions have also been held with South Korea as a basis for future cooperation on projects, this culminated in an agreement in March 2012.
Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) will be the company responsible for the building and operation of these first two plants.
The nuclear industry in Vietnam is in its very early stages and therefore presents an ideal opportunity to introduce UK companies to those responsible for the delivery of the programme. It appears that the major construction works and operation will be undertaken by EVN but as an inexperienced organisation they will need some advice on how best to procure and operate the plants. It is also clear that the intervention of Russian and Japanese companies will leave UK companies with some catching up to do.
However there remain opportunities for UK companies in specialist areas:
• Education and Training
• Consultancy services
• Regulation and safety management
• Security
• Operation management
• Waste management
The UK already has a number of companies with the necessary expertise in these areas and are recognised as world leaders in their fields.
UKTI has created a special unit in post to develop and strengthen relationships with the delivery authorities and likely main contract suppliers as part of the High Value Opportunities (HVO) programme.
The High Value Opportunities programme is UKTI’s flagship initiative that identifies, prioritises and supports UK businesses of all sizes to access large scale overseas procurement projects that offer huge contract opportunities for British business.
