Singapore nuclear study stays on track

11 April 2011

The recent incidents at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant will not derail Singapore's ongoing pre-feasibility study on nuclear energy, senior minister of state for trade and industry S Iswaran has told the Singapore Parliament. In answer to members of parliament who asked whether the government would now reconsider the pre-feasibility study, Iswaran was emphatic that it would continue. "On the contrary, what happened in Fukushima makes it all the more important that we conduct such a study, and build our knowledge and understanding of nuclear energy," he said. Even on completion of the pre-feasibility study, the country would still be "a long way from making any decisions on nuclear energy for Singapore per se," he said, but noted that several other countries in the region, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, had announced plans for nuclear energy. "Therefore, even if we do not proceed with nuclear energy for Singapore, we need to understand its implications," he said.

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