National Assembly deputies met for a plenary session to discuss plants to build the Lai Chau Hydro-electric Power Plant in the northwestern region.
Under the proposal, the plant will see the third dam built on the Da River, after the Son La and Hoa Binh power plants.
The Lai Chau plant will be located in Nam Hang Commune, Muong Te District in Lai Chau province, and once completed, it will play an important role in regulating water in the Hong (Red) River and meeting growing demand for electricity across the country.
In addition, construction of the plant will boost socio-economic development in the two northwestern provinces of Lai Chau and Dien Bien, particularly in the mountainous district of Muong Te.
During the discussion, the majority of deputies agreed with an appraisal of the plans made by the NA’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment.
The appraisal said that investment in the construction of the power plant was in line with the development orientation of the Vietnam’s electricity sector and with socio-economic development in Lai Chau province.
Deputies asked the committee to provide more details on technologies required for the project, its budget and safety issues as well as plans for relocating people from the project’s site and measures to ensure minimal environmental impact.
Deputies Dang Van Chien from northern Lai Chau Province, Le Van Hoc from Central Highland Lam Dong Province, Cam Chi Kien from northern Son La Province, Tran Kim Phuong from Hanoi and Nguyen Dinh Xuan from southern Tay Ninh Province along with many other deputies expressed their concerns over the resettlement of affected people.
According to statistics from the Government, about 1,660 households with 5,867 people from eight communes as well as one entire town will have to be relocated.
Deputies heard that the new settlement for displaced people would be located in Muong Te District. They said that while this was a good location for resettled people to start a new life, the Government should increase subsidies for those people and ensure their living conditions would not deteriorate.
Chien and Ngo Quang Xuan from southern Dong Thap Province said resettlement plans also had to address the need to preserve the traditional culture and customs of ethnic people who are affected by the project.
Deputies Hoang Thi Binh from northern Cao Bang Province and Be Xuan Truong from northern Bac Kan Province raised concerns over the safety and durability of the project in the context of climate change, especially as the dams on the Da River release water downstream during the flood season.
In his report to deputies, Pham Le Thanh, General Director of the Electricity of Vietnam, said the Lai Chau hydropower plant would be located in an area that has complicated geographical conditions as well as the potential for earthquakes.
However, the project was designed to withstand strong earthquakes that measure up to 9 degrees on the Richter scale.
Regarding the water flow upstream of the Da River, Thanh said technical experts had assured him of the safety of the project, even in the case of failures at upstream dams.
In other developments, later in the morning, deputies passed a resolution on budget allocation for the central level for 2010 with 410 votes in favour, accounting for 83.16 percent of deputies.
Nuclear power
During the afternoon session, NA deputies were unanimous on approving the construction plan for two nuclear power plants in central Ninh Thuan Province, which aim to ensure the nation’s energy security.
However, almost all of the deputies said that the nation might not have enough human resources and capital to build two nuclear power plants at the same time. They suggested building one plant initially.
Deputies Nguyen Lan Dung from Central Highland Dak Lak Province and Nguyen Dinh Xuan from southern Tay Ninh Province said information on the project should be better publicized to local residents and to people across the nation.
They also said local authorities in the communes where the plants would be located should visit power plants in developed countries.
Deputy Truong from northern Bac Kan Province raised concerns over the specific technologies utilized in the project, saying that the technologies selected should be those that ensure maximum safety.
Sharing the same concerns, deputies Dinh Xuan Thao from southern Kien Giang Province, Nguyen Dang Vang from central Binh Dinh Province and Nguyen Trung Nhan from southern Can Tho City all agreed that safety should be the top priority in any nuclear power project.
They recommended that a plant with two reactors utilizing third-generation nuclear technology be build first, while the second plant could be built once the nation has further developed human resources expertise in the area.
Deputy Pham Quoc Anh from the southern province of Dong Nai said he was worried about the lack of a in-place legislation on the use of nuclear energy. He said construction on the plant might begin before this legislation is implemented.
Deputy Pham Thi My Huong from central Ninh Thuan Province said she agreed with Anh, suggesting the project focus on training for staff and technical workers that could help ensure the safe operations of the plants.
She said that a proper evaluation on the ability of the main investor, Electricity of Vietnam, to run the plant was important.
Regarding energy security, Ministry of Trade and Industry Vu Huy Hoang said he estimated that Vietnam would face severe electricity shortages by 2020.
Therefore, the development of other power sources was an urgent matter, especially as the country could not fully exploit its current sources of energy.
The first 550-ha nuclear plant is planned to be built in Ninh Phuoc District’s coastal Phuoc Dinh Commune in central Ninh Thuan Province, while the second plant will be built in nearby Vinh Hai Commune in Ninh Hai District.
The two plants would have four reactors generating 1,000 MW of power each. Initially, two would be built at each plant.
The selection of locations for the plants was carried out in line with criteria issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Source: CPA 
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