BUDAPEST, November 29. /TASS/. The Hungarian regulator has approved a preliminary safety report on the Paks-2 NPP, giving the green light to officially lay the foundation of the nuclear power plant, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto announced.

"The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has approved the preliminary safety report for the future Paks-2 nuclear power plant. The approval of the preliminary safety report means that we have received permission to pour the so-called first concrete into the foundation of the Paks-2 NPP. This is one of the most important milestones in the construction of the nuclear facility," Szijjarto said in a video message on his Facebook page (banned in Russia, owned by the Meta corporation, recognized as extremist in Russia).

Szijjarto noted that in order to approve the construction of Paks-2, some not-so-simple safety measures had to be taken. Thus, an impermeable wall had to be built that goes deep into the ground to protect against groundwater ingress, and large-scale work had to be carried out to prepare the soil in the foundation pit for the future NPP.

"This is a serious document with a total volume of half a million pages, which meets the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This permit also means that after the first concrete is poured, the nuclear power plant will be officially classified as a nuclear facility under construction. The first concrete will be poured early next year," said the minister, who oversees the Paks-2 NPP project in the Hungarian government.

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.