BREAKING: Rosatom head in Hungary, first concrete poured for Paks II NPP – photos

The first concrete for an expansion of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant was poured on Thursday.

Paks II to be a big advantage for Hungary, FM Szijjártó believes

With the first concrete pour for the plant’s number 5 block, the project officially qualifies as “under construction” according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó called the Paks II project the “flagship” for the revitalisation of nuclear energy in Europe and said it was a guarantee of affordable utilities bills.

He noted that the Hungarian government had taken the decision to upgrade the Paks NPP at a time when nuclear energy had been disparaged, but said the critics had since come to acknowledge that nuclear was the cheapest and most environmentally-friendly way to reliably generate large amounts of electricity. He added Paks II would give Hungary a big advantage in future.

Energy sovereignty

Szijjártó said many had tried and were still trying to block the upgrade of the Paks NPP, including “the former American administration, the liberals in Brussels and some of the Hungarian opposition“, but added that the government had not and would not allow those efforts to succeed.

Szijjártó said the completion of the Paks expansion would be a “giant step” towards Hungary achieving energy sovereignty. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the IAEA, said Hungary’s demonstration of will in the face of the headwinds facing Paks II was an example to be followed.

Rosatom head: celebration of Hungarian-Russian ties

Alexey Likhachev, the head of Rosatom, the general contractor for Paks II, called the concrete pour a “celebration” of Hungary’s nuclear energy industry and of Hungarian-Russian ties. He noted that the project was being implemented in an international cooperation that included Hungarian suppliers and their partners.

Likhachev acknowledged the work of foreign minister Szijjártó to advance the project as well as the head of the IAEA for preserving professional independence.

Check out our previous articles concerning the Paks II upgrade below:

• American fuel in Paks Nuclear Power Plant? Is Hungary trying to decrease Russian energy dependency?
• Russian executive linked to Hungary’s Paks II project detained over alleged funding of Ukrainian army