Paks upgrade commissioner briefs Austrian side about state of project

Vienna (MTI) – The government commissioner for the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant met Austrian ministry officials to brief them about the current stand of the project, in Vienna on Friday.

Attila Aszódi held talks with officials of the Austrian environment and economy ministries at a regular annual meeting held under a bilateral inter-governmental agreement concluded in 1987. Under the agreement the sides directly inform one another about developments in the area of atomic energy.

Assessing the meeting, Aszódi described it as “correct and objective”, stating to the Austrian partners Hungary’s commitment to ensuring transparency of the project and continuing to share all of its details with Austrian officials.

The Austrian partners were briefed first-hand about Brussels’ recent approval of the project, the issuance of a site permit for the upgrade by the Hungarian atomic energy authority and a prospective domestic environmental permit expected soon, Aszodi told MTI.

He told his partners that now all conditions are set for the upgrade to get under way.

“Hungary needs atomic energy in the long term in order to ensure safe supplies in an effort to meet the country’s electricity needs, this is why the Paks project is essential,” Aszodi said, adding that the Austrian side accepted this concept.

Hungary signed an agreement in January 2014 on the construction of two blocks at the Paks plant by Russia’s Rosatom. Russia is lending Hungary 10 billion euros to cover 80 percent of the project’s costs. Construction work on the upgrade is due to start next year.

Photo: atomeromu.hu

Source: MTI