Japan has dropped out of plans to build a major nuclear power plant in Vietnam because the time frame is too tight, Japanese ambassador Naoki Ito told Reuters, potentially complicating Vietnam’s long-term strategy to avoid new power shortages.
Vietnam, home to large manufacturing operations for multinationals including Samsung and Apple, has faced major power blackouts as demand from its huge industrial sector and expanding middle class often outpaces supplies, strained by increasingly frequent extreme weather, such as droughts and typhoons.
“The Japanese side is not in a position to implement the Ninh Thuan 2 project,” the ambassador to Vietnam said, referring to a plant with a planned capacity of 2 to 3.2 gigawatts. The project is part of Vietnam’s strategy to boost power generation capacity.
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Ninh Thuan 2 is scheduled to come online by 2035 alongside Ninh Thuan 1, a plant with the same capacity, according to the government’s road map.
Vietnam wants to increase electricity production from multiple sources, mostly renewables and gas, but projects have faced delays and uncertainty over regulatory and pricing issues.
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The announcement comes amid strains in usually close ties between Hanoi and Tokyo, including from a planned ban on petrol motorbikes in central Hanoi that has angered market-dominating Honda.
