HANOI - Power-hungry Vietnam scrapped plans for two multi-billion dollar nuclear power plants on Tuesday, citing environmental and financial reasons after the cost of the projects skyrocketed. The cost of the nuclear power plants, slated to be the first in Southeast Asia, doubled since they were first tabled in 2009 to an estimated $18 billion, officials said earlier. The government said costs mushroomed as they sought more advanced technology following Japan's deadly Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Though nuclear power does not produce harmful carbon emissions, environmentalists have raised concerns about nuclear waste storage. The government said scrapping the huge nuclear projects would not affect much-needed power supplies.

Source: Bangkok Post November 22, 2016 12:45 UTC