Major changes around Paks II – what happens to Russian and French assistance?
Economist Gergely Jákli wrote about the future of the Paks II project in his company magazine. He talked about how the strict contractual frameworks hold back the advancement of the project.
The strict framework is holding them back
Recently, PM Orbán’s political director Balázs Orbán admitted that the contractual framework of the Paks II project is being reconsidered in the light of increasingly stringent Western sanctions. Reacting to this, Mr Jákli said that there is an increasing need for the new blocks as soon as possible. He said that the current daily electricity demand of around 6,000 MW could rise to around 10,000 MW per day by 2030. Thus, if Paks I and Paks II were to produce in parallel by then, the two plants would still meet 40-45 percent of the expected electricity demand per day.
He then spoke about the general contractor agreement with Roszatom, which promises the completed Paks II project with a construction cost of EUR 12.5 billion. Of this, EUR 10 billion would come from Russian loans.
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“Rigorously driven piles give the appearance of stability, but they also tie your hands and make it harder to move the project forward. I believe that the contractual environment is also full of such pillars, which are rather obstacles and slowing factors,” Portfolio quotes Mr Jákli as saying.
These changes are likely to affect only the status of the Russian prime contractor, in line with Portfolio’s background information, and not the complete replacement of Russia’s Rosatom in the project. Since, according to Mr Jákli, “the project is in our hands”, the indications are that Paks II Zrt. could be the main contractor, and French Framatome could really only get a bigger role in the management system.
Rosatom will still be the main partner
What Jákli said also confirms that Paks II Zrt. is still counting on Rosatom to build the primary circuit. Thus, the scheme would continue to build on the internationally well-established division of labour, with Western European companies joining the Russian primary circuit in various areas, Portfolio writes.
“We are committed to this, we plan to continue to implement the project with Roszatom, and our suppliers – both Framatome and Siemens – are also committed to the project,” Mr Jákli concluded.
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Would you like to purchase a Russian built car? Would you like to fly in a Russian built plane? Why on earth would you want a Russian built nuclear reactor?
@Larry – apparently, because the Russians are willing to loan us lots of money to do so.
Why would you want to borrow lots of money from Russia?
Russia is number one at nuclear technology. Soon it will by China. This is the reason why they have the most customers.
Ah yes Chernobyl is the mighty example of Russia being number one in nuclear technology. These blockheads can’t even manufacture their own semiconductor chips. At least the control systems in the plant will be Siemens built thank God. As for loans the discussion is that Hungary is overpaying for the plant so as they say in Hungarian “sliding money” must be going somewhere.
Deep in the Russian mindset is the idea that you cut corners to get things done. These are the people who are accident prone. Who put defective Chinese tires on their million dollar military vehicles that breakdown on their way to Kyiv. Whose military technology is proving to be third rate on the battlefield. These are the people whose mechanics work hungover installing parts into critical machinery. They are the people that live in a closed society where the truth of anything they do is hidden and they sell you a package of lies. These are the people who will keep you on the hook dependent on them and subject to their political pressure for the 50 year life of the nuclear reactor you buy. These are the last people you ever want building your nuclear reactor.