Hungary is determined to build the Paks-2 nuclear power plant with the participation of Russian state-owned Rosatom and hopes that "the first concrete" will be laid this autumn, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told TASS news agency.
"We are absolutely committed to building this new nuclear power plant because it is the foundation of our long-term energy sovereignty and long-term energy security," He said. "We hope that the so-called 'first concrete pour' will take place in the autumn and that we will be able to speed up the work on site."
The Paks nuclear power plant, which was built with Soviet technology and uses Russian nuclear fuel, supplies half of all electricity generated and a third of the electricity consumed in Hungary. Four units with VVER-440 reactors are currently in operation at the plant, which was built about 100 kilometres south of Budapest on the banks of the Danube.
At the end of 2014, Russia and Hungary signed documents on the construction of new units 5 and 6 at the Paks nuclear power plant with reactors of the advanced VVER-1200 design, which meets the latest reliability and safety standards.
It has been announced that Russia will provide Hungary with a state loan of up to €10 billion for the Paks-2 project, the total construction cost of which will exceed €12.5 billion. The Hungarian government expects the plant's capacity to increase from the current 2,000 megawatts to 4,400 megawatts once the two new VVER-1200 nuclear reactors are operational.
TASS/gnews.cz - GH
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