Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says he is confident a nuclear waste dump can be built safely in the Northern Territory.

The Federal Government's preferred site for a waste facility is Muckaty Station, near Tennant Creek.

The plan opposed by some traditional owners and local politicians.

Speaking in Darwin, Mr Abbott said a nuclear waste facility is in the national interest.

"I am confident that any waste arrangements here in the Territory will be conducted in the most effective way, with the least possible risk to the environment," he said.

"Sometimes local concerns do have to give way to the national interest."