Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: Termination of Ninh Thuan 2 Nuclear Power Agreement with Japanese Partner, Land Clearance to Commence in January 2026

On the evening of January 7th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the Steering Committee for the Construction of Nuclear Power Plants, chaired the 4th meeting to review the progress of restarting this critical project. Amid the urgent energy demands for the new development phase post-2031, the meeting yielded significant decisions regarding the re-evaluation of investment partners and financial mechanisms for land clearance.

Official Termination of Agreement with Japanese Partner at Ninh Thuan 2

Regarding investment direction, the most notable change was the Prime Minister’s directive for the Ninh Thuan 2 Nuclear Power Plant project. The Government leader instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to formally notify Japan in writing of the decision to discontinue investment cooperation for this plant.

Simultaneously, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for finalizing the dossier to submit to the Government for a resolution on terminating the adjustment of the investment cooperation agreement, in accordance with regulations and the principle of “harmonious benefits, shared risks.”

For the next steps regarding Ninh Thuan 2, the Prime Minister tasked the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) – the designated investor – with collaborating with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to study and propose a plan for selecting a new partner. The requirement is that the partner must possess advanced source technology, suitable for the new circumstances.

The Prime Minister emphasized the need to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to continue utilizing the technical documents developed by Japan for this project, aiming to optimize existing resources and data.

Meanwhile, at the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant project, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Vietnam Electricity (EVN) have undergone 28 rounds of negotiations with the Russian Federation partner. The Prime Minister urged these units to decisively resolve outstanding issues, ensuring the completion of negotiations for the Investment Cooperation Agreement for construction by January 2026.

Resolving Financial Mechanism Bottlenecks, Finalizing Land Handover Schedule in Q1

Identifying land clearance as a critical step to restart the project, the Prime Minister directed the People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa Province (the current project location) to complete investment preparation to immediately implement the resettlement project in January 2026.

The issue of funding for compensation to residents and organizations was specifically addressed: Khanh Hoa Province is to collaborate with the Ministry of Finance to propose additional central budget allocations, ensuring funds are ready for payment in January 2026. The ultimate goal is to complete compensation and relocate households to hand over “clean land” to the investor by Q1/2026.

To establish a cohesive legal framework for this work, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was tasked with coordinating with relevant agencies to report to the Prime Minister on the abolition of Decision No. 1504/QD-TTg of 2013 (on mechanisms and policies for compensation, support for resettlement of the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project) by January 15, 2026.

Rectifying “Passive” Implementation of Tasks

Overall, after the third meeting, ministries and sectors completed 12 out of 15 assigned tasks. However, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh candidly pointed out lingering passivity and localized delays in certain stages, particularly in negotiating the Agreement and arranging capital and legal grounds for land clearance.

With the spirit of “working day and night without rest,” the Prime Minister instructed the Steering Committee to maintain monthly meetings to review progress. Relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Science and Technology and the State Bank were given specific deadlines in January 2026 to finalize national standards, lists of state secrets, and special payment schemes, ensuring the nuclear power project proceeds in compliance with the law and meets national development requirements.