KHÁNH HOÀ — Khánh Hoà province is expediting site handover for Nuclear Power Plant Projects 1 and 2, aiming to complete site clearance and transfer land to investors before December 31 in line with the Prime Minister’s directive.

On July 19, 2025, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1566/QD-TTg allocating VNĐ3.236 trillion (US$122.6 million) to Khánh Hoà to implement resettlement and site-clearance work. Following a review, the provincial People’s Committee has asked the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to consider allocating the remaining VNĐ9.156 trillion from the 2025 central budget to complete the resettlement scheme.

According to Decision No. 794/QD-TTg, the total planned land recovery area is 1,279.52 ha, affecting 1,288 households with 4,911 residents. However, field assessments show that the required land area for the two projects is 1,129.14 ha, impacting 1,713 households with 5,229 residents.

A representative of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade noted that several provisions under National Assembly Resolution No. 41/2009/QH12 on investment policy for the nuclear power projects are no longer appropriate, such as total investment, timeline and implementation roadmap, and require adjustments to form a legal basis for subsequent steps.

Decision No. 794/QD-TTg dated June 8, 2015 on resettlement and site clearance also needs revision as the actual size of the resettlement areas has changed. Differences in land-clearance boundaries among current regulations are expected to affect resettlement planning, increase land acquisition by around 598.5 ha, impact public works, infrastructure and two renewable-energy projects, and raise compensation costs by an estimated VNĐ12.1 trillion.

The provincial People’s Committee has proposed that the PM report to the NA Standing Committee and seek approval to separate compensation, support, resettlement and site clearance into an independent project to be implemented by the province under its delegated authority.

To facilitate the construction of Nuclear Power Plants 1 and 2, their component projects and the special mechanisms previously applied to the former Ninh Thuan province, Khanh Hoa has also asked the PM to report to the NA and its Standing Committee to allow the continued application of special mechanisms under Resolution No. 189/2025/QH15 following the administrative merger.

The province also requested the PM to instruct project investors EVN and Petrovietnam to promptly report adjustments to the investment policy to ensure a legal basis for land recovery; and to direct the Ministry of Finance to allocate the remaining VNĐ9.156 trillion from the central budget (outside the province’s public-investment plan) for the nuclear-power resettlement programme.

Khánh Hòa further called for the abolition of Decision No. 1504/QD-TTg dated August 28, 2013 on compensation and support mechanisms for nuclear power-related resettlement. It also urged the Ministry of Science and Technology to urgently revise Circular No. 13/2009/TT-BKHCN to provide a clear legal basis for determining safety distances required for compensation, land clearance, relocation and resettlement.

The provincial Construction Investment Project Management Board has also reported survey results and proposed two resettlement sites for the Ninh Thuận 2 Nuclear Power Plant project along Provincial Road 702, ensuring a safety distance of more than 5 km from the project’s reactor core and outside the emergency protection zone. — VNA/VNS