As a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement with Vietnam awaits final
review on Capitol Hill, US nuclear energy suppliers say that
strengthening ties with the country would lead to more exports and jobs
here at home.
In his speech run on the Nuclear
Energy Institute (NEI) website on June 18, Gary Wolski, Vice President
of Curtiss-Wright’s Nuclear Division, said Vietnam’s economy in
recent years has seen steady economic growth of 5 percent to 6 percent
per year.
The country is planning to build up to
10,000 megawatts of nuclear generating capacity by 2030, with the first
reactors to come on line in the next decade, he added.
According to Wolski, Curtiss-Wright isn’t alone in seeing opportunity
in Vietnam ’s new commitment to nuclear energy. Westinghouse Electric
Co. is opening an office in Hanoi this summer to take advantage of
potential business opportunities.
David Durham, GE
Hitachi Nuclear Energy’s Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial
Officer, who recently returned from a business trip to Vietnam, said
“the country seems to be booming. There’s massive construction going on
everywhere. You have an emerging nation that’s building brand new
airports, highways, bridges, high-rise office buildings, factories.”
That fast pace of modernisation means there is greater demand for
electricity, with the World Nuclear Association estimating annual
electricity demand growth at between 10 percent and 15 percent in the
coming years, he noted.
According to the US
Department of Commerce, the Obama administration last month signed a new
agreement called Agreement 123 with Vietnam and sent it to the Congress
for review. The agreement will go into effect after 90 days of
continuous session, unless the Congress passes a resolution of
disapproval.
American suppliers hope to benefit as soon as the
agreement goes into effect, with the potential to create large numbers
of US jobs.
Last week, Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.)
and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) introduced a resolution in the House of
Representatives calling for approval of Agreement 123.
The same day, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) introduced a joint resolution favouring the proposed agreement.-VNA