Budapest plans to accelerate the start of construction of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant

UN, 24 Sep – PRIME. Budapest plans to accelerate the launch of the construction of two power units as part of the PAKS-2 project, the reactors should be operational by 2030, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told RIA Novosti.

“We were very pleased that the national regulator issued a final approval for the start of construction at the end of August, which means that we can move from a purely preparatory phase to the construction phase. Because we still have not abandoned our goal that by 2030 two new reactors were put into operation,” Szijjártó said.

He stressed that in order to do this, it is necessary to start pouring cement into the ground as early as October next year or at the latest in November. You should also have a phased plan for next year.

“We will agree on it with (the head of Rosatom – ed.) Alexei Likhachev on Monday in Vienna,” he said, adding, because there are the most important permits – for the melt trap, for the “nuclear island”.

“So now we can really speed up. And I really want the procedures to be accelerated, because by 2030 we must be ready,” he stressed.

The only nuclear power plant in Hungary, Paks, is located 100 kilometers from Budapest and five from the city of Paks. The station was built according to the Soviet project, it operates four units with VVER-440 reactors. The Paks nuclear power plant now generates almost half of all electricity in Hungary, and with the planned commissioning of two new Paks units, this share is expected to double. For Hungary, nuclear energy is a way to ensure its energy security, the leadership of this country has repeatedly emphasized.

At the end of 2014, Russia and Hungary signed documents on the construction at Paks NPP of new power units No. 5 and No. 6 with reactor plants according to the advanced Russian project VVER-1200, which meets the most modern standards of reliability and safety. It was reported that Russia would give Hungary a state loan of up to 10 billion euros for the Paks-2 project, and the total cost of the work would be 12.5 billion euros.