The investment is being monitored by several international nuclear organizations, including the International Atomic Energy Agency.Continue reading
Cement is arriving by the trainload from Slovakia for the Paks II project; the total investment may now be 20-35 percent complete. However, the so-called first concrete pour, a major milestone, will have to wait a little longer: it is expected in March instead of January-February as previously known.
The decree to build the two new nuclear units in Paks, virtually at any cost, has been published in the Hungarian Gazette, Világgazdaság reports. To this end, some of the conditions of the EPC contract may be modified and the price of the investment may be increased.
The cost of the Paks II project has been capped at €12.5 billion, but some experts believe that this could rise by around 10 percent. The future replacement of the four operating Paks units is also a possibility, but this is expected to take place 20 years later than previously assumed, thanks to the second extension of the plant’s lifetime.
The four units of the Paks nuclear power plant, now also called Paks I, have a combined capacity of around 2,000 MW, and the two units of Paks II will have a combined capacity of 2,400 MW.
Both the operating units and the new units to be installed are of Russian-designed pressurized water (VVER) type, but the new ones represent an upgraded, generation 3+ version of proven technology.
A spectacular event in the Paks II project will be the first concrete pour, but the date has been pushed back a little. Although in the past months the concrete pouring was planned for January or February 2025, in a recent interview Gergely Jákli, CEO of Paks II Zrt. told Paks FM that the technical conditions and permits will be available later.
The expert pointed out that,
contrary to appearances, the project is speeding up: last spring it seemed that the first concrete pour could only take place around July or August 2025, but now even the “semi-pessimistic” scenario includes March.
Photo: Facebook/Paks II. Atomerőmű Zrt.
As reported by Hungary Today, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó called the pouring of the concrete a crucial part of the construction, because “once the first concrete has been poured, this nuclear power plant will be officially classified as a nuclear installation under construction.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency considers a nuclear installation to be under construction from the moment the first concrete is poured.
Preparations for concrete pouring are also indicated by the cement trains on the domestic rails, which came from two factories in Slovakia.
Gergely Jákli estimated that the construction of the two new Paks units is about 20-35 percent complete. However, much of the work is not yet visible because the physical part of the construction is not above ground. It is still mainly only the staging buildings that are visible on the site.
Photo: Facebook/Paks II. Atomerőmű Zrt.
In total, there will be 124 such buildings, all of which already have permission. At the moment, 60 to 70 are under construction. The largest of these will be 11,000 square meters, said Péter Rákóczi, communications director of the project company. He stressed that the work involves extremely intensive preparation, planning and licensing.
According to Gergely Jákli,
the realistic scenario is that Paks II’s electricity will be on the market by the early 2030s.
Via Világgazdaság, Featured image: Facebook/MVM Paksi Atomerőmű Zrt.