Rosatom intends to implement Paks II project in Hungary within agreed timeframe

ANTALYA. Nov 13 (Interfax) - The Russian state corporation Rosatom is going to implement the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) project in Hungary within the approved timeframe, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev told journalists on the sidelines of World Atomic Days in Antalya on Friday.

"The wish to implement the project within the timeframe, in which we agreed to implement the project with our Hungarian partners, has been fulfilled," Likhachev said.

Rosatom is ready to give explanations as part of the Hungarian audit, he said. "We respect and understand that work," Likhachev said.

Now the company is to draw up financial and production plans for 2027, he said. The company can only proceed with the project as fast as the customer tells it to, he said.

In October, Likhachev said that Rosatom was not currently in dialogue with Hungarian authorities over the Paks-2 project. "Unfortunately, so far we have no dialogue with Hungarian authorities. Work at the level of technical customers is ongoing, it has been constructive. But projects of this scale are not implemented without government support," Likhachev said. "So far we hear Hungarian leaders saying that the project's audit is not over yet," he said.

"So far we hear Hungarian leaders saying that the project's audit is not over yet," he said.

"We have not received official notification from the customer of its intention to terminate the contract and see no legally justified grounds for such a step," Rosatom's press service said.

In 2009, the Hungarian parliament approved an expansion of the country's only active NPP, the Soviet-designed Paks, with an addition of two power units, Unit 5 and Unit 6. At the time, the project was estimated to be worth 12.5 billion euro.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Unit 5 was held in February 2026.

Rosatom is ready to answer any questions from Hungary regarding the Paks II NPP project, including its cost, Likhachev said earlier, commenting on the results of the country's parliamentary elections. "The leader of the winning party [Peter Magyar] has already mentioned our project several times, including, somewhat critically regarding the price," Likhachev said. "We are open and waiting for the same kind of trust in implementing this project," Likhachev said at the time.

In May, Likhachev said Rosatom expected speed up work on Paks II. "We very much hope that together with the [Hungarian] government we will restart the project in terms of accelerating it. For various reasons, we were not moving as fast as we would have liked," he said.