BUDAPEST, November 10. /TASS/. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of Hungary Peter Szijjarto and Director General of Rosatom Alexey Likhachev discussed the implementation of the Paks-2 NPP construction project at a meeting in Samarkand on Thursday. The Hungarian Foreign Minister expressed confidence that the second stage of the nuclear power plant in Paks will be built, as planned, by 2030.
"Today in Samarkand, we reviewed the state of affairs with the Director General of Rosatom Alexey Likhachev and agreed on the steps that we must take in the coming weeks so that by the end of the decade we have two new power units of the Paks NPP," Szijjarto wrote on Facebook (banned in Russia, owned by the Meta corporation, recognized as extremist in Russia).
The Hungarian minister was in Samarkand at a meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries of the Organization of Turkic States, in which Hungary has observer status.
Szijjarto noted the great importance of the Paks-2 project for the country's economy.
"Hungary, to put it mildly, is not rich in mineral resources, so nuclear energy will be able to ensure our independence from completely senseless changes in the international energy market and the rapid rise in energy prices," the Foreign Minister said.
"The expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant is in our strategic interests and our national security interests. So far, we have been able to prevent Brussels from imposing sanctions [against Russia] on our nuclear developments, and we will continue to do so in the future," Szijjarto added.
The Paks NPP was built about 100 kilometers south of Budapest on the banks of the Danube using Soviet technologies. At present, preparations are underway for the construction of two new power units designed by Rosatom. The required licenses have been obtained and the work is underway at the construction site. As Szijjarto said earlier, Moscow confirmed its readiness to finance this project, which is estimated at 12.5 billion euros and which from the very start was supposed to be 80% financed by a Russian loan. The Hungarian government expects that two new nuclear reactors of the VVER-1200 type will be commissioned by 2030 and after that the plant's capacity will increase from its current levels of 2,000 MW to 4,400 MW.