LMP: Paks upgrade funding could create 100,000 jobs if used for energy efficiency projects

Green opposition LMP on Tuesday slammed the 4,200 billion forints (EUR 13.6bn) investment into the upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant for its failure to create long-term jobs.

The project will create jobs in a concentrated area, for a limited time, and in part for foreigners. Should the same amount be invested into energy efficiency, as many as 100,000 jobs could be established nationwide, co-leader Ákos Hadházy told a press briefing.

Citing the response of the minister responsible for the upgrade, János Süli, to his letter, Hadházy said that foreign experts would also be needed for the construction of the two new blocks at Paks. The minister, he said, noted that during the construction of a similar plant in Finland, 4,400 workers from 50 countries had been deployed simultaneously.

This example reveals that the Paks project would only serve the interests of a select few close to ruling Fidesz, rather than the country as a whole, Hadházy said.

The construction of two new blocks for the Paks nuclear plant has “entered into an active phase”, Foreign Minister Szijjártó said earlier, after the project has received the last environmental permits in April. Süli said earlier that the project is expected to be finished and the blocks operational by 2026, with site preparation starting later in 2017.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI