The head of Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom has expressed confidence that Hungary’s Paks II nuclear power plant project will be completed, saying the company remains committed to the investment, primarily in Hungary’s interests.

Speaking to the Hungarian News Agency (MTI) in Antalya, Türkiye, on Friday, Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said the company believed the project would be realised despite the challenges surrounding it.

Rosatom has no plans to drop Paks II

Likhachev made the remarks at the World Atomic Days (WAD) event, held alongside the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31).

He stressed that Rosatom had never planned to remove the Paks II investment from its list of top-priority projects and had no intention of doing so in the future.

The Russian company’s chief executive said he was confident that the project would be completed in cooperation with the Hungarian government and Hungarian experts. He argued that Hungary needed the new nuclear power plant to secure its energy supply, while the investment would also contribute to the development of the country’s nuclear energy sector.

Likhachev described the cooperation between the two countries as exemplary, noting that it had begun decades ago with the construction of the existing Paks Nuclear Power Plant.

He added that Paks II was progressing according to a timetable agreed with the Hungarian client and approved last year. The project is being overseen by both the Hungarian and Russian governments.

Rosatom ready to provide financial and technical information

Looking ahead, Likhachev said that the financial plan for next year would need to be drawn up first, followed by a schedule for the construction work.

“We are fully prepared to complete the project with our Hungarian partners within the agreed deadline. We are aware that the Hungarian government is conducting an audit of the project, and we respect and understand this,” he told MTI.

He emphasised that Rosatom was ready to provide its Hungarian partners with all the necessary financial and technical information.

The CEO also pointed out that the first concrete had already been poured into the foundation of Unit 5. Construction work on both Units 5 and 6 was continuing without interruption, he said.

“We can implement the project at whatever pace the Hungarian client allows us to,” Likhachev added.

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World Atomic Days brings together 700 participants from 50 countries

The international World Atomic Days business event took place in Antalya on 12–13 November, alongside COP31, which is being held in the Turkish city from 9 to 20 November.

The event was organised in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Nuclear Association (WNA) and the BRICS Nuclear Energy Platform.

Around 700 participants from 50 countries attended the programme.