Vietnam and Russia are working together on a project to build a new 10 MW research reactor at the Center for Nuclear Science and Technology in Long Khanh City, Dong Nai. The goal of this project is to produce radioactive pharmaceuticals for cancer treatment and irradiate silicon to create semiconductor materials for chip production.
Dr. Tran Chi Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute, shared details about the project during a press conference organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology on July 4. According to him, the new research reactor will significantly increase the production of radioactive pharmaceuticals currently produced by the Da Lat nuclear reactor, which produces about 10 types of such drugs.
The implementation of this project is part of an Intergovernmental Agreement signed in 2011 and approved by the Vietnamese government in 2018. It represents Vietnam’s first large-capacity nuclear research reactor. To support this project, officials from Vietnam will participate in the basic design and safety analyses of the reactor with the support of Rosatom.
The collaboration between Vietnam and Russia on this project signifies an important milestone in Vietnam’s nuclear energy development. It aligns with global trends in using nuclear resources for socio-economic development and shows that Vietnam is stepping up its efforts to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
