FM: Paks 2 construction will intensify as investment moves into higher gear
A new milestone has been reached with the completion of soil works under Block 5 of the Paks nuclear power plant.
A new milestone has been reached with the completion of soil works under Block 5 of the Paks nuclear power plant.
The production process in Russia had been monitored by Hungarian experts and representatives of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Office.
The number of workers at the Paks plant is currently at 900 and growing, and the manufacturing of equipment with long production times under way.
The foreign minister said the Paks upgrade would secure Hungary’s electricity supply for decades to come.
The works are proceeding according to plan, with soil stabilizing works currently underway.
Around 10,000-13,000 people will be working at the site at the peak of the construction phase.
“Nuclear energy is the solution to safely producing large quantities of electricity at competitive prices while protecting the environment,” the foreign minister said.
Alexey Likhachev visited the Paks site with Hungarian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Levente Magyar on Friday.
Hungarian subcontractors have begun ground preparations for the foundations and the housing of the VVER-1200 reactors.
The foreign minister said the Paks upgrade is a major international project that is not subject to any sanctions, with both Rosatom and Hungary cooperating with several Western companies.
The meeting was also attended by Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Kirill Komarov, Rosatom’s first deputy director general.
Minister Szijjártó said both he and the Rosatom chief had expressed their commitment towards ensuring that the two new blocks should be put into operation at the beginning of the next decade.
The changes to the contracts and the European Union’s approval will make it possible for the plant’s new blocks to begin operating by the very beginning of the next decade.