BUDAPEST, February 27. /TASS/. Hungary raised the issue during talks with the United States concerning cancellation of anti-Russians sanctions interfering with implementation of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant construction project, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at a press conference.
Construction of the second stage of the nuclear plant under the project of the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom is significant for Hungary but sanctions introduced against Russia by the administration of ex-US President Joe Biden interfere with it, the minister said. "That is why for purposes of supporting future energy security of Hungary, I requested last week in Washington to exempt investments in the Paks-2 from sanctions," Szijjarto noted.
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.