Hungary-Russia contract concerning Paks NPP upgrade still kept in secret

Benedek Jávor, the European Union adviser of the opposition Párbeszéd-Greens, expressed concern over the government’s secrecy concerning the insurance contracts of the upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant on Saturday.

At an online press conference broadcast on Facebook, Jávor said it was one of the key issues of the Paks upgrade whether the project is adequately insured. This is important so that the financial consequences of unexpected events are not burdened on Hungarian taxpayers, he said.

Jávor said it was reason for concern that in this year’s amendment to the contract between the Hungarian and Russian partners, “the Hungarian party waived its right to consent regarding the contracts concluded by Rosatom, and gave the general contractor a free hand on how to guarantee financial collaterals in the event of a delay or accident”.

He said it was also problematic that a brokerage tender was called for the Hungarian insurance of the project, which was won by a unit of the group owned by the businessman Lőrinc Mészáros as a single bidder. The deadlines set in the original tender were modified several times, and it is still unclear whether the company fulfilled the public procurement requirements and the appropriate insurance has been taken out, he added.

Parbeszed-Greens have asked these questions in writing but the government only gave “cynical” one-sentence answers stating that the Paks project had all the necessary contracts, Jávor said.

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• Rosatom head: All obstacles to Paks II construction removed, Lavrov guaranteed energy security