Vietnam will have a Nuclear Science and Technology Center before 2025

According to the Vietnam Atomic Research Institute, before 2025, Vietnam will put into operation the Nuclear Science and Technology Center.

The new research center will help Vietnam carry out modern research, promote the application of atomic energy in economic and social fields, and gradually improve the national nuclear science and technology potential.

Ninh Thuan nuclear power project (Illustration photo: KT)

The Nuclear Science and Technology Center was built with the assistance of the Russian Federation, using preferential loans from the Russian Government to Vietnam (about 500 million USD), including two project components in Da Lat and Hanoi.

The project's focus is on a research nuclear reactor, with an expected capacity of about 15 MW, 30 times larger than the current nuclear reactor in Da Lat. The construction of the Center will help improve long-term scientific and technological capacity to absorb transferred technology, moving towards autonomy in the operation, maintenance and repair of nuclear power plants, ensuring that the plants operate safely and achieve economic efficiency.

According to Mr. Tran Chi Thanh - Director of the Vietnam Atomic Research Institute, in the nuclear power project, because the technology has been standardized, the most difficult thing is to build and design a nuclear reactor that can be used for a long time, with a configuration that must achieve the goal of researching and producing radioactive isotopes to serve economic development.

In addition to achieving the goal of serving research, the nuclear reactor must also produce radioactive isotopes for the medical sector. Currently, the nuclear reactor in Da Lat only meets 30% of the radioactive isotopes for hospitals in Vietnam. When this new reactor is operational, it can meet 100% of the amount of radioactive isotopes for medical use.

Mr. Tran Chi Thanh affirmed that in 50-60 years of developing the nuclear industry, there has never been any unfortunate incident that happened to the research reactor. The research nuclear reactor is safe, and will be put into operation before 2025./.

According to VOV