IAEA Delivers Report to Viet Nam on its Nuclear Power Infrastructure Development

The IAEA has handed over to Viet Nam the final report of a peer review mission that assessed the country's development of the infrastructure needed for a safe, secure and sustainable nuclear power programme.

The Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission was conducted from 1 to 11 December 2025 at the invitation of the Government of Viet Nam and hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology. An IAEA team of experts reviewed the status of 19 nuclear infrastructure issues using the IAEA evaluation methodology for Phase 2 of the Milestones Approach, which assesses a country's readiness to invite bids or negotiate a contract for its first nuclear power plant.

Viet Nam first placed nuclear power on its national agenda in the 1980s, then approved, paused, cancelled and ultimately restarted the programme. In 2024, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam decided to revive the Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Project, which had been suspended in 2016, and the National Assembly authorized the Government to allocate the resources needed for implementation.

"Today we mark a concrete step forward in that long arc: the formal delivery of the IAEA's Phase 2 Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review report to the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam", said Mikhail Chudakov, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy, who delivered the report to Vu Hai Quan, Vietnam's Minister for Science and Technology, on 22 April 2026 in Hanoi.

The mission team concluded that Viet Nam has taken major steps to restart and accelerate the Ninh Thuan project and the development of the required infrastructure. In 2025, Viet Nam enacted a new Atomic Energy Law and adopted special mechanisms to facilitate financial and contractual arrangements for nuclear power plants. The team identified good practices in government-enabling mechanisms for financing and procurement, as well as in leveraging existing expertise in environmental monitoring for nuclear projects, practices that could benefit other countries developing nuclear power.

The report also contains recommendations and proposals to guide Viet Nam's next steps. These address regulatory independence, nuclear liability, contracting and construction readiness, management systems aligned with IAEA standards, human resource development, stakeholder engagement, and long-term strategies for the fuel cycle and waste management.

Minister Vu Hai Quan welcomed the delivery of the report. "Viet Nam highly values the INIR mission, as well as the dedication of the IAEA and international experts," he said. "The report provides a solid foundation for identifying gaps and guiding the next steps in developing a safe, secure and sustainable nuclear power programme in line with international standards and IAEA guidance."

Mr Chudakov underscored that the handover is the beginning of the next phase of work, not its conclusion. "This report is a working document, a foundation for the action plan that comes next," he said.

Based on the outcomes of the mission, the IAEA and Viet Nam will update their Integrated Workplan to reflect the findings and align future support with the country's programme priorities.

INIR missions enable IAEA Member State representatives to have in-depth discussions with international experts about conditions and best international practices in the development of a nuclear power programme. In developing its recommendations, the INIR team considers the comments made by the relevant national organizations. Implementation of any of the team's recommendations is at the discretion of the Member State requesting the mission. The IAEA publishes the INIR mission report on its website 90 days after its delivery to the Member State, unless the State requests in writing that the IAEA not do so.

Viet Nam previously hosted INIR missions in 2009, 2012 and 2014.