Vietnam’s infrastructure for nuclear safety and security has failed to meet requirements and standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.

Vuong Huu Tan, head of the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety under the Ministry of Science and Technology, offered the comment at the ongoing conference on nuclear regulations that lasts until Thursday in Da Lat of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

The three-day conference, with the participation of 300 domestic and foreign experts on nuclear technology, is aimed at improving the management of nuclear safety, especially the radioactive resources used in industrial production, health services and nuclear waste.

Several scandals, such as the loss of radioactive equipment by the construction and industrial testing company Apave Asia Pacific reported last year, have worried the community.

In 2009, the National Assembly and the government of Vietnam approved a plan to build two nuclear power plants in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan.

The construction of the two facilities has been delayed from this year to 2017.

The Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant, to be located in Phuoc Dinh Commune in Thuan Nam District, is expected to be completed in 2024, while the Ninh Thuan 2 plant in Vinh Hai Commune, Ninh Hai District will be completed the following year.

The construction cost of the two plants, with a total capacity of 4,000 MW a year, was estimated in 2008 at VND200 trillion (US$9.2 billion).

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