Viet Nam’s first nuclear power plant will be up and running by 2020, Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Van Phong told a seminar on nuclear power infrastructure in Ha Noi yesterday.

At the seminar, jointly held by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vietnamese and foreign scientists and other specialists discussed what needed to be done by way of preparation for building the country’s first nuclear power plant.

Foreign experts warned that, before beginning the process, Viet Nam would have to enact legislation, including a Law on Nuclear Energy, and set up nuclear safety management agencies.

They recommended that the country promptly build the technical infrastructure to ensure radioactive and nuclear safety, as well as to manage radioactive waste and used nuclear fuel.

Developing human resources with international qualifications, they said, was also necessary to ensure the sustainable development of the nation’s nuclear energy program.