Paks-2 NPP schedule may be shifted, but to be carried through to conclusion
MOSCOW. Sept 18 (Interfax) - 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.
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.
The project will enhance Hungarian-Russian contacts and also modernize the electricity supply structure of the European Union, saying Paks-2 was a courageous enterprise from the standpoint of power generation and of East-West relations.
But Orban noted that the project faced technical issues concerning licensing, permits and EU bureaucracy, and that difficulties had arisen and would arise in future.
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 euro.