Russia to grant $8 bln loan to Vietnam to build first nuke plant

Russia will provide an $8-billion loan to Vietnam to build its first nuclear power plant, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Wednesday. "Russia will grant a loan worth $8 billion," Shuvalov told Vesti TV channel. The Ninh Thuan Nuclear Power Plant will have two energy units with a capacity of 1.2 GW each. Vietnam plans to complete its first nuclear power plant with Russia by 2020 and build a second plant under a joint project with Japan in a move to create 15 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2030. Russia and Vietnam also signed an intergovernmental agreement on Monday to build a nuclear science and technology center in Vietnam.