National Assembly deputies cast their votes on the resolution on special mechanisms and policies for investing in the construction of the Ninh Thuận nuclear power project at its ninth extraordinary session on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — With 96.03 per cent of the National Assembly (NA) deputies voting in favour, the 15th National Assembly adopted a resolution on special mechanisms and policies for investing in the construction of the Ninh Thuận nuclear power project.

At its ninth extraordinary session on Wednesday, 459 out of 460 present deputies cast ‘yes’ votes for the policy.

The resolution consists of five articles and takes effect immediately upon its adoption on February 19.

The resolution outlines plans for the Ninh Thuận 1 Nuclear Power Plant and the Ninh Thuận 2 Nuclear Power Plant, both located in the south-central province of Ninh Thuận. Together, these projects will span a total area of 1,642ha.

The construction is expected to impact approximately 1,100 households, affecting nearly 4,000 people.

Notably, the NA has authorised negotiations with partners that have signed international treaties, as well as with other potential partners, to establish international agreements on cooperation, construction and credit financing for the project.

These negotiations will take place in parallel with the approval process for investment policy adjustments and project approvals.

Regarding investor and contractor selection, the Prime Minister will assign the project’s implementation to the designated project owner.

A direct contracting method under a streamlined process will be applied to the turnkey package for the construction of the main power plant, with contractors designated in international agreements.

This contract will encompass all legally required construction activities, as well as responsibilities such as preparing site approval documentation, ensuring the entire contract scope, supplying nuclear fuel and operating and maintaining the plant for five years following its acceptance and commissioning.

This streamlined direct contracting process will also apply to key consulting services during both the investment preparation and project implementation phases. These include preparing and reviewing the pre-feasibility study reports, assisting the project owner with negotiations, contract signing and turnkey contract management, verifying site approval documentation, feasibility study reports, technical designs, construction drawings and other required specialised reports, along with overseeing project management and construction supervision.

Additionally, the same streamlined direct contracting process will be used for evaluating technology, safety, security and nuclear regulatory compliance throughout the investment and construction phases of the Ninh Thuận nuclear power projects.

This approach aims to leverage the expertise of both domestic and international specialists and organisations effectively.

All procedures for direct contracting under the streamlined process will be conducted in accordance with national bidding regulations.

Financial plan and capital arrangement

The NA has authorised negotiations with partner governments to secure funding for the project based on its capital requirements and the commitments of foreign sponsors. If Vietnamese law does not provide specific regulations yet, or if existing regulations differ from those of foreign sponsors, the project may follow the sponsor's regulations.

The project owner is permitted to take out loans and qualify for lending under a structure in which the on-lending agency assumes no credit risk. Additionally, the project owner is not required to submit proposals for programs or projects using Official Development Assistance (ODA) or concessional foreign loans.

During project implementation, if loan agreement negotiations fail or the loan amount falls short, the Prime Minister is authorised to allocate funds from increased State revenues, central budget savings and other lawful funding sources.

The project owner may arrange counterpart funding from various sources, including commercial loans, corporate bonds, on-lending of government bonds, infrastructure bonds issued by the Government and Government-guaranteed bonds. The terms of on-lending will align with the conditions of the respective bond issuance, the project's debt repayment capacity and the Law on Public Debt Management. — VNS