PAKS /Hungary/, November 14. /TASS/. Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Hungarian Foreign Ministry signed a schedule of construction for the Paks-2 nuclear power plant that runs through the early 2030s, head of Rosatom Alexey Likhachev and the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto announced on Tuesday.
The two officials visited the construction site at Paks and discussed the implementation of the project for the construction of two new units of the nuclear power plant.
"We have signed a work schedule. We will be able to commission the nuclear power plant some time in the early 2030s," Szijjarto said at a meeting with reporters after negotiations with Likhachev.
"For us, the construction deadlines will be set by the contracting party," the head of Rosatom noted.
Likhachev also said that at present, 14 power units with VVER-1200 reactors designed by Rosatom are under construction around the world. Two of them are being built in Hungary.
"We pay special attention to the Paks-2 nuclear power plant project and are devoting a lot of resources here. Attention to this project will increase," the head of the Russian state corporation assured.
He added that Rosatom intends to use its best technologies and most experienced personnel in Paks.
"We are ready to involve our higher education institutions and conduct the necessary practical training and internships at similar units built in Russia," Likhachev said.
"The development of cooperation between our countries in the field of nuclear energy is of great value to us," Likhachev said. He thanked Szijjarto for his participation in the preparation and implementation of the Paks 2 project, joking that he could well be not only the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations, but also the Minister of Nuclear Energy.
The head of Rosatom gave special words of gratitude to Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban, who has taken a personal interest in the project.
In turn, Szijjarto confirmed Hungary’s commitment to further developing nuclear energy, recalling that it is a reliable, safe and cheap way to obtain energy.
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.