May 30 (Bloomberg) -- Vietnam has drawn up plans to mine local uranium to feed the nation's first civilian nuclear power plant, which may start in 2020, the Viet Nam News said, citing Tran Xuan Huong, the head of the geology and minerals department.

The project aims to extract about 8,000 metric tons of uranium octaoxide from the central province of Quang Nam, the newspaper said, without giving a timeframe.

Vietnam's uranium reserves may reach hundreds of thousands of tons, the report said, citing the ministry of the environment and natural resources. Still, specific investigations remain limited, it added.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dang Khanh Van in Hanoi at vdang1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 29, 2008 23:04 EDT