Rosatom expects to secure construction license for Paks II NPP in Hungary by autumn 2021
MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) - The Rosatom state corporation expects to secure a construction license for the Paks II nuclear power plant (NPP) by autumn of 2021, the company said in a statement.
"Principal construction work on the new power units" will begin after the license is secured, the state corporation said.
In H1 2021, the site will see excavation works to strengthen the soil, construction of the diaphragm walls of the construction pit and creation of the pit itself.
It was reported earlier that the Hungarian Energy and Utilities Regulatory Authority (MEKH) has approved a plan to connect the future Paks II NPP to the power grid.
In November, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority sent a preliminary report to the IAEA on the safety rationale for the construction of the Paks II NPP. The safety report underlies the documentation for obtaining a construction license.
In June 2020, Rosatom submitted a package of documents for obtaining a construction license for both units of the Paks II NPP, and expects to obtain it in the second half of 2021.
At present, four units with VVER-440 type reactors with a total capacity of about 2,000 MW are in operation at Hungary's only Paks NPP, built under a Soviet design. In 2009, the Hungarian Parliament approved the construction of two new power units at the NPP, but the construction timeframe was affected by the protracted proceedings of the European Commission.