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Szijjarto says Paks-2 NPP construction to be discussed with Rosatom CEO in Istanbul

Though Rosatom is the general contractor, "subcontractors from the US, Germany and France also work successfully on the project," the minister noted

UN, July 16. /TASS/. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said that he will discuss the construction of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant with Chief Executive Officer of Russia’s state-run corporation Rosatom Alexey Likhachev in Istanbul on July 17.

"Tomorrow I’m going to have talks with Likhachev in Istanbul focused on the construction of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant," he told reporters.

Though Rosatom is the general contractor, "subcontractors from the US, Germany and France also work successfully on the project," the minister noted. "I think that this holds the promise that someday we will be able to return to normal international relations because if American, German, French and Russian companies can work on a nuclear project together they will possibly be able to work together on other projects as well in the future," he stressed.

The Paks NPP plant, built by Soviet specialists in the 1980s and powered by Russian nuclear fuel, provides half of all electricity generated and a third of electricity consumed in Hungary. Currently four VVER-440 pressurized water reactors are in operation at the Paks NPP, located on the bank of the Danube 100 kilometers south of Budapest. The construction of a second stage of the plant - its fifth and sixth units - is in progress underway. Moscow has confirmed its readiness to finance the Paks-2 project, estimated at 12.5 bln euros, which from the very beginning was supposed to be 80%-funded with a Russian loan. According to preliminary calculations, after the commissioning of two new VVER-1200 reactors, the plant's capacity will increase from the current 2,000 megawatts to 4,400 megawatts.