BUDAPEST, January 8. /TASS/. Construction of the Russian-designed second phase of Hungary’s Paks Nuclear Power Plant is set to wrap up in 2032, or at least a year later than expected, according to an interview that the country’s Energy Minister Csaba Lantos gave to Kossuth Radio on Sunday.
"Investments in Paks-2 are also very important for the country because the construction of that NPP will take a lot of time and is expected to end by 2032," he said. "The nuclear option [of electricity production] is an absolute must."
The plant currently employs four reactors, and the second phase is poised to add two more.
The Hungarian government earlier said Paks-2 would be finished by the end of the decade. The minister didn’t elaborate in the interview about the reasons for the delay. It’s however been reported that permits for the construction took longer than expected to obtain in recent years.
Lantos assumed office a month ago.
The Paks plant, which operates on Soviet technology, makes up about half of all electricity produced in Hungary and one-third of the country’s electricity consumption. Hungary earlier said Moscow was willing to finance 80% of the 12.5 billion euros project by providing a loan. The plant’s capacity could more than double from 2,000 megawatts to 4,400 megawatts when the second phase comes online.