Construction permit for Paks-2 NPP expected in near future - Hungarian foreign minister
MOSCOW. Oct 3 (Interfax) - The permit for construction of the Paks-2 Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary is expected in the near future, Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto told journalists during Russian Energy Week.
Construction will commence as soon as the permit is received, he said.
Nuclear power covers half the country's electricity needs and "we'll reach 90% with nuclear generation by the end of 2030," he said.
Four Paks-1 NPP units are currently operating and a permit bas bene obtained to extend the plant's service life. "We went to a lot of effort for this," Szijjarto said, adding that Hungary would not cave into EU pressure to reduce the share of nuclear power. "We will not accept pressure from the EU, when they ask us to lower volumes of generation," he said.
The schedule for the project to build the Paks-2 Nuclear Power Plant may be shifted, but it will be carried through to conclusion, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September.
Orban said the Paks-2 project was the standard-bearer for cooperation between East and West, that Hungary would strive to stick to the timetable and that the project would be carried through to its conclusion.
At the beginning of August, the head of Russian state corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev said the date for the start to construction of Paks-2 would be clear following receipt of the license.
It was reported earlier that first concrete was expected to be poured in 2018 and that the two power generating units were scheduled for commercial startup in 2025-2026. Construction of the NPP will cost about 12.5 billion euros.