• 
• 

Published on April 19, 2008

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com

The Nation

Starting last year, the government set a period of three years for pre-project activities, namely: power system planning, a feasibility study and a site survey. By the end of the third year (2010), the government will have to make its final decision on whether to embark on this long-term and capital-intensive scheme.

If it is given the go-ahead by then, there will be no turning back, because project implementation needs a very long lead time of up to a decade before commissioning. For instance, site selection and qualification alone will take about two years, since it is a technically complicated and politically sensitive process.

About four decades ago, Ao Pai, off the eastern province of Chon Buri, was picked as a potential site, but the project was later suspended.

The new NPP blueprint shows that the preparation of project specifications, as well as bidding, will also be completed during the first two years. It will then take one year to evaluate all bids and another year to negotiate the contract, estimated to be worth a combined Bt300 billion.

Other key elements of the project-implementation phase are completing project engineering, applying for local and international licences and procuring equipment and materials.

Plant construction will take six years to complete, starting in the seventh or eighth year of the project.

Site preparation and excavation will take about six months, while construction of the reactor building and containment facilities will take about four years.

Construction of auxiliary buildings will follow, while installation of primary systems will be done during the 10th and 13th years of the project. During this period, there will also be construction of turbine and generator buildings.

In terms of manpower, the blueprint shows that 800-1,000 qualified personnel will be needed to complete the 4,000-megawatt plant.

Dr Somporn Chongkum, executive director of the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology, said about 200 physicists and 500 engineers would be needed. A significant number of these personnel should have advanced degrees (masters and PhDs) in their respective fields.

Somporn said an open invitation is expected to attract a large pool of qualified personnel if the salaries are competitive.

At present, a bachelor's-degree holder will get around Bt15,000-Bt30,000 a month while a master's degree holder will receive Bt20,000-Bt50,000 depending on experience.

As for PhD holders, the salary range is Bt40,000-Bt100,000 per month, depending on experience.

According to the blueprint, the project will need power-plant, electrical and other engineers with 10-15 years of experience, with special training in nuclear physics and power-plant operation. In addition, personnel with advanced degrees in economics and law, with similar special training, will be in demand.

In general, manpower will be sought from the power and industrial sectors, for special technical training, as well as from educational institutes where personnel are already trained in these areas.

All in all, the blueprint appears sound. But the big question is whether the government will have the political will to get the project off the ground come 2010.