There would be difficulties, he acknowledged, because of the scale of such a project. At the same time, there would be safety issues.

But technology may evolve so that such challenges can be resolved.

'I would not rule it out for the long term,' he said.

'I would not say never, because if global warming is a serious problem, if energy prices in the long term continue to rise, fuel prices continue to rise, and if you are worried about a carbon tax on top of that, then you have to seriously consider nuclear.'

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.