second nuclear power project is being prepared with Japanese partners and will also be in Ninh Thuận. A 200 MW wind power plant is under construction in Ninh Thuận province and is planned to be completed in 2012. Other wind power plants are being constructed in Bình Thuận province. Bình Thuận is also the location of a 1200 MW electro-thermal plant currently under construction. Demography The South Central Coast region had a population of 8.93 million. The three northern provinces of Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định have the largest populations and together make up almost half of the region's population (47.7%). 2.82 million or 31.6% of them live in cities and towns. More than half of the region's urban population is in Da Nang, Khánh Hòa province and Bình Thuận province, while more than half of the rural population is in the provinces of Quảng Nam, Bình Định and Quảng Ngãi. Annual population growth has averaged 1.22% from 2000 to 2007, with Da Nang recording the fastest population growth at 1.95%. Growth in the three northern provinces of Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi and Bình Định has been slowest at around 1%. The four other provinces had average growth rates between 1.26% (Khánh Hòa province) and 1.59% (Ninh Thuận province). The region's population is ethnically clearly dominated by the Vietnamese people (Kinh). There are some minorities, the most significant of which are the Cham, the descendants of Champa. They live mostly in the lowlands around Phan Rang and northern Bình Thuận province, with smaller communities in other provinces such as southern Bình Định. Other minorities live mostly in the mountainous western parts of the region. Areas inhabited by minority people make up more than half of Quảng Nam province and Quảng Ngãi province. References External links Regions of Vietnam Geography of Vietnam