Russia-Asean energy ties could unlock billion-dollar nuclear market, says analyst
Asean and Russia renewed their energy cooperation framework and launched a capacity-building project on energy statistics at an energy meeting held in Kuching earlier this month. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA : Asean's continued collaboration with Russia in the energy sector could pave the way for the development of a regional nuclear energy market, unlocking a plethora of spillover benefits across the economy, talent development, and energy transition, according to an analyst.
Elena Burova, a senior research fellow at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, described nuclear energy as 'one of the youngest and most dynamically developing sectors of the global economy'.
'This is because nuclear projects are large, technologically advanced projects with many spillover effects to country economies.
'A large-scale nuclear power plant in Asean can bring US$62 billion of gross domestic product input (to the region) as well as over 20,000 jobs during construction and 7,000 permanent jobs for the operation and associated industries,' she said.
The 43rd Asean Senior Officials' Meeting on Energy held earlier this month in Kuching, Sarawak, saw the launch of the Asean-Russia Capacity Building on Energy Statistics project and the renewal of an energy cooperation framework for 2026 to 2028.
Elena Vikulova, Russia's deputy head of its directorate of international cooperation, said in her opening remarks that there is strong potential for Asean-Russia energy cooperation given the region's surging energy demand.
In April, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said the International Energy Agency has agreed to support and assist Malaysia in drafting policies to explore and study the use of nuclear energy.
He is currently on a working visit to Russia until June 28, partly to explore further nuclear energy cooperation with the nation's state-owned nuclear arm Rosatom. This follows Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's trip to Moscow earlier this year which saw nuclear energy emerge as a key area of collaboration.
Nuclear energy, as a zero-emission and reliable source of clean energy, has drawn growing interest from Asean countries in their pursuit of energy transition goals.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Vietnam was seeking urgent negotiations with Russia over an investment cooperation agreement concerning the development of its Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant in August.
The country shelved earlier efforts in 2016 due to high construction costs and safety concerns, but is revisiting nuclear to bolster its energy security and meet economic growth targets.
Burova added that Russia has a wealth of experience in developing nuclear energy, with Rosatom currently building 22 out of 24 reactor units for export worldwide. It has built over 110 units since its inception in 2007.
'Rosatom has an important advantage that it can assist in localising a large number of jobs to the Asean workforce.
'This includes local manufacturing and engineering of heavy and specialised equipment, employing local labour, construction materials, consumables, tools and materials at the site,' she said.
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The Star
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