One-third of Hungary's electricity demand is supplied by the Paks plant, the minister without portfolio responsible for the Paks nuclear plant upgrade project said.Continue reading
The construction phase of the Paks nuclear plant upgrade project is set to get under way in 2022, János Süli, the minister without portfolio responsible for the project, said on Friday.
Before construction on the two new reactor blocks can begin, however, Hungary’s National Atomic Energy Authority (OAH) has to issue the implementation permit for the project and several other permits must also be obtained, Süli told the Tolna County assembly in southern Hungary.
The application for a manufacturing permit for the reactor vessel was submitted to the authority last month, which it has five months to assess, he said.
Süli noted that the OAH had asked Paks II Zrt, the company managing the upgrade, to resolve a discrepancy in its implementation permit application.
“But what’s more important than the deadline is that the blocks function safely with high production indicators for 60 years,” the minister said.
Work on the construction pit is expected to start early next year and the concrete cover is set to be completed in mid-2023, he said.
The amendment to the project’s financing agreement has been approved by both the Hungarian and the Russian parliaments, Süli said. “We definitely aim to have the new reactors operational by 2029-2030,” he added.
Featured photo illustration by Tamás Sóki/MTI