Malaysia is ready to have a nuclear power plant to generate electricity by 2020, a Malaysia official said on Wednesday.

The Malaysian government would implement the plan after people in the country well know the use and benefits of nuclear power and accept it, said Mohd Ruddin Ab Ghani, parliamentary secretary of the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry.

Efforts to raise people's awareness about nuclear energy had started through workshops, seminars and conferences in the country, he told reporters in Langkawi, a tourism island in northern Malaysia, when the International Conference on Protection from Radiation 2007 was opened there.

Mohd Ruddin stressed that electricity generation from nuclear energy was important as petroleum and coal reserves were being depleted.

Although the cost of building nuclear plants was high, the production cost would be cheaper, he added.

The three-day conference was organized by the Malaysian Nuclear Agency, which reportedly has a research nuclear reactor currently.

Source: Xinhua