Atomex Europe conference and fair opens in Budapest – UPDATE

Budapest, November 30 (MTI) – The Atomex Europe 2015 conference and exhibition opened in Budapest on Monday with the participation of suppliers and partners of Russian energy giant Rosatom.

Kirill Komarov, deputy CEO of the Rosatom state nuclear energy group, said at the opening of the conference which runs until December 1 that the partner network is continuously expanding and Hungarian companies can also participate as suppliers. Their electronic procurement system is open to the interested parties, he added.

Government commissioner for the enlargement of Paks, Attila Aszodi, said that Hungary is building the nuclear component of its energy supply together with renewables, and these are both necessary to achieve climate policy targets.

The construction of two new reactors at Hungary’s sole nuclear plant is set to begin in 2018 once the planning and licensing work is completed, Aszodi said at the conference. Under an agreement signed in December, the Russian partner as general contractor is fully in charge of delivering the project, which includes selecting sub-contractors as suppliers, he added.

The Budapest expo serves as an excellent opportunity for Rosatom to meet partners, including Hungarian suppliers, Aszodi said, noting that under an inter-governmental agreement 40 percent of upgrade-related projects can be covered by Hungarian companies.

Commenting on the investigation launched by the European Commission into the financing of the Paks upgrade, Aszodi said the Hungarian government will provide professional response to questions in a timely manner.

He reiterated that the Paks project can be carried out without state aid, adding the government’s position that it “has the right” to conclude an inter-governmental agreement with a third country on the expansion as long as rules of Euratom and the EC are observed.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters