Vietnam's Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Plant Phases 1 and 2 Accelerate: Resettlement and Land Clearance Take Priority

On July 31, 2026, the Vietnam News Agency reported that the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa Province is urgently implementing tasks assigned by the central government to advance Sub-projects No. 1 and No. 2 of the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant (Phuoc Dinh Commune) and the Ninh Thuan 2 Nuclear Power Plant (Vinh Hai Commune) — namely, resettlement and land clearance works. The Khanh Hoa Provincial Investment and Construction Project Management Board has been designated by the Provincial People's Committee as the investor for the two sub-projects.

Regarding Sub-project No. 1 (resettlement and land clearance) of the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant, the Provincial Project Management Board has completed the approval of construction drawings and budgets and is currently selecting contractors for 6 construction and installation packages. Among them, Package No. 15 (technical infrastructure for the resettlement area) has completed contractor selection and signed the construction contract. The construction unit has received 34.7 hectares of land and coordinate markers out of the 65.12-hectare resettlement area, and the temporary camp and project headquarters have commenced construction. The remaining packages pending bidding include: Package No. 14 (water supply facilities for the resettlement area), Package No. 16 (social infrastructure for the resettlement area), Package No. 17 (fishing vessel berthing area and revetment embankment), Package No. 18 (cemetery facilities), and Package No. 33 (construction and renovation of medium-voltage power lines and substations).

Sub-project No. 2 of the Ninh Thuan 2 Nuclear Power Plant comprises three components: a 31.8-hectare resettlement area, a land resettlement zone, and a cemetery. The feasibility study report was approved by the Provincial People's Committee on March 22, 2026, and the Department of Construction has completed the review of the basic design. The current biggest challenge is that 155.78 hectares of forest land within the project scope (including 134.49 hectares of natural forest and 21.29 hectares of planted forest) require procedures for land-use purpose conversion. The Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment has issued opinions on the adjustment of resettlement area boundaries and the exclusion of forest land, based on which the Project Management Board has submitted an application for afforestation fee payment and a request for forest land conversion approval.

In addition, approximately 200 hectares of the roughly 449.37-hectare plant site of the Ninh Thuan 1 project and approximately 16 hectares of the 65.62-hectare resettlement area have not yet completed land clearance due to issues such as illegal land subdivision or false household registration declarations, and have been transferred to the Provincial Public Security Department for verification. The Provincial Project Management Board has requested the People's Committee of Phuoc Dinh Commune to accelerate land compensation and handover progress and to formulate a phased land handover plan as directed by the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; it has also requested the People's Committee of Vinh Hai Commune to initiate cemetery plot allocation and grave relocation work and to solicit public opinions on policies not to be implemented in the resettlement area. The Project Management Board has also requested the Department of Agriculture and Environment to promptly determine the location of borrow pits to meet the fill material requirements of the Ninh Thuan 2 project.