From 2011 to 2015, PSC was entrusted with survey and testing work for the planning, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies of Vietnam’s nuclear power projects.
In late 2011, Vietnam began promoting nuclear power projects within its territory. PSC, then still the Southern Integrated Survey Enterprise under PECC2, was entrusted with survey and testing work for the planning, pre-feasibility (Pre-FS) and feasibility (FS) studies of Vietnam’s nuclear power projects.
Nuclear power plants have the most stringent technical, quality and safety requirements in the energy sector. All topographic, geological, seismic, hydrological, oceanographic and foundation survey data must be extremely accurate, meet international standards and pass multiple levels of review.
Being entrusted with survey work for nuclear power projects demonstrates PSC’s ability to meet the most demanding technical requirements in energy construction.
Nuclear power projects PSC took part in (2011–2015)
- Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant – working with Rosatom, the Russian Federation’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (E4 Group – KIEP – EPT consortium). Project area: 443.11 ha onshore and 440.57 ha of sea surface (figures published after the 2015 site plan revision).
- Ninh Thuan 2 Nuclear Power Plant – working with DIA Consultants and Hanshin (Japan). Project area: 380.91 ha onshore and 377.63 ha of sea surface (figures published after the 2015 site plan revision).
- Nuclear Power Project No. 3 (Binh Dinh) – working with KEPCO, Korea Electric Power Corporation.
Terrain, climate and their impact on surveys at Ninh Thuan 1 and 2: both sites lie in coastal, semi-mountainous areas with intense heat, strong winds, sand and dust storms, and waves of up to 4 m at times. For drilling, measurement and marine surveys, these conditions affected moving equipment into position, keeping survey points stable, protecting samples and scheduling safe working days.
From 2011 to 2015, PSC collected and processed topographic, geological, meteorological, upper-air and hydrological data for the Pre-FS and FS. After the Fukushima accident, the review of geological and topographic parameters was also one of the reasons for the 2015 site plan revision, which PSC supported as well.
Total estimated cost of the Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 nuclear power projects: approximately VND 200,000 billion for both plants, based on Q4/2008 estimates in Resolution 41/2009/QH12.
Working on these key projects alongside leading experts from countries with long experience in nuclear power was both an honor and a demanding challenge for PSC.
Every task, every data point and every procedure had to be tightly controlled and strictly comply with the project’s technical requirements and standards. This was not only a professional requirement but also the surveyor’s responsibility, because the accuracy of survey data is a key basis for every subsequent stage of the project.
For PSC, these projects are also a special professional milestone: an opportunity to work in a demanding technical environment, adopt international working methods and gain valuable experience in a field that requires exceptional precision and discipline.
The people who go one step ahead
Phan Rang and Binh Dinh are not easy places to work. Despite modern equipment, PSC’s people remained the core factor, exposed to a harsh climate. The dry season brought scorching sun, with some days above 40°C and wind whipping sand and dust into their faces. At sea, wind and waves of up to 4 m posed their own challenges for survey work. The rainy season brought heavy downpours and rapidly changing weather that directly affected field operations and site safety.
Under these conditions, PSC engineers worked tirelessly alongside Russian, Japanese and Korean experts. Long days moved between the site and the project office, sometimes late into the night. Completing each task required not only expertise but also close coordination, discipline and the highest sense of responsibility from everyone.
Surveyors may not appear in the final pictures of a completed project. But they are there from the very beginning, quietly, sometimes on land with no people, no existing structures, no infrastructure and no roads. They go one step ahead, crossing forests and streams to survey, measure, record and create the very first data.
This is how PSC’s “soldiers” leave their footprints on the journey – quietly but persistently; not standing behind the project, but starting from the very place where it will take shape.
The restart phase
In 2025, Vietnam restarted its nuclear power program, and PSC continues to support PECC2 in this new phase. The topographic, geological, meteorological, upper-air and hydrological data collected and processed from 2011 to 2015 are still preserved by PSC, becoming a valuable asset that shortens the time needed to study and reassess site conditions as the project resumes.
On 26 September 2025, at the World Atomic Week forum in Moscow, PECC2 and Rosatom Energy International JSC (REIN JSC, part of the Rosatom State Corporation) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation to update the feasibility study and site documentation for the Ninh Thuan 1 Nuclear Power Plant.
On 22 March 2026, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin witnessed the signing of the Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Russian Federation on cooperation in building a nuclear power plant in Vietnam.
