MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Specialists from Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom launched the main stage of construction on the Paks-2 nuclear power plant in Hungary on Monday, the press service of the state corporation reported.

"On August 21, 2023, the general contractor of the Paks-2 NPP project, JSC Atomstroyexport (ASE, the engineering division of Rosatom), began work on the main stage of construction of two new generation 3+ VVER-1200 power units. The contractor, the Hungarian company Duna Aszfalt Kft, has begun preparations to excavate soil from the pit under what will in the future be block 6. The Bauer Magyarorszag Kft company has intensified work to strengthen the soil and continued work on the construction of the anti-filter protection of the construction site," the statement says.

Excavation in the pit under what will in the future be block No. 6 to a depth of 5 meters involves the removal of about 1 million cubic meters of soil. The work is scheduled to be completed by fall 2023.

This main stage of work follows the amendments to the contract the parties signed on the construction of two new power units on August 18, and Paks II Nuclear Power Plant Ltd, the Hungarian customer of the Paks-2 NPP project, issued a corresponding official notice on the transition of the project to the second, main stage of construction.

The permission obtained to proceed to the second stage of construction also makes it possible to start production on the main power equipment both at Russian enterprises and at Rosatom’s partner enterprises.

"Today, on behalf of the ASE, instructions were given to manufacturers to launch such production. The project moving to this main stage means the start of construction on all the main buildings and structures. At this new stage, a significant increase in personnel, machinery and equipment will be required. The intensity of works on the project will gradually increase," according to the press service of Rosatom.

Earlier, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Hungary would oppose the imposition of sanctions against the Russian nuclear industry, since such restrictions could harm the national interests of the country. According to him, taking into account the geographical and natural features of Hungary, nuclear power is the only way to produce a large amount of energy, as well as being a safe, environmentally friendly and cheap way to generate electricity. The Hungarian Foreign Minister noted that the republic would perceive all attacks aimed at preventing new investments in Paks as actions aimed at violating Hungarian sovereignty in the future.

About Paks project

The Paks NPP, which was built with Soviet technologies, and which uses Russian nuclear fuel, provides half of all generated and one third of consumed electricity in Hungary. At present, four power units with VVER-440 reactors operate at the station built about 100 kilometers south of Budapest on the banks of the Danube.

In late 2014, Russia and Hungary signed documents on the construction of new power units 5 and 6 at Paks NPP with reactor plants of the advanced VVER-1200 project, 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, with the total cost of construction exceeding 12.5 billion euros. The Hungarian government expects that after the commissioning of two new VVER-1200 nuclear reactors, the plant's capacity will increase from the current 2,000 megawatts to 4,400 megawatts. In early July, the head of the Office of the Prime Minister of Hungary, Gergely Gulyas, said that the pouring of the first concrete on the foundation of the Paks 2 nuclear power plant in Hungary is expected in the summer of 2024.