János Süli emphasized to Magyar Nemzet: a new milestone was reached in the project, when a few weeks ago the construction works of the first facilities of the construction and erection base started, by a Hungarian enterprise. The Russian Contractor commissioned the best bidder company, KÉSZ Construction and Assembly Ltd.

Meanwhile, the more than 300.000 pages long technical documentation, required for the implementation license is being compiled. The new units’ design meet even the strictest safety requirements – he said. The documents handed over by the Russian Party are being checked by the Paks II. professionals, following this they will be sent over to the competent authority, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA), and the international experts working for them. We are working on it, that once the first unit, reaching its 50 years of lifetime, shuts down in 2032, we will have several years of operation experience of the two new Paks NPP units – he added in his interview.

The minister also spoke about the supply of the turbine generator – whose value is about 1 bn EUR, meaning about 10% of the whole investment – was won by the American GE based on the French Alstom’s technological basis. Another important procurement is the tender on I&C systems, recently opened by Rosatom. They are also counting on Western suppliers in this case, while the main equipments and primary circuit will be produced by Rosatom itself.

He underlined that the Russian loan is needed to finance the investment, so during the whole period implementation the financing is secured. „If you feel like, the Russian loan is a security net. Each and every item can be prepaid at face value, without additional charges, and if a cheaper market loan is available, we can use it of course” – he said. He added 100 mil EUR was used from the Russian loan so far, or about 30 bn HUF by 12 invoices, but ten invoices have already been repaid. The remaining two, lesser value invoices are to be prepaid, the Ministry of Finance will decide their fate – he said.
János Süli also said that Paks II Ltd. and the nuclear authority monitor the whole manufacturing process, this ensures the appropriate quality. At the end of the project, it must meet all nuclear safeguards and safety requirements set out in laws, standards and international standards, codes, guidelines.

He thinks the Hungarian government made a wise decision when it committed itself in the long run to nuclear energy beside the renewables, this is proved by the intensifying climate policy debates. He emphasized: there couldn’t be cheap and competitive price of electricity for the consumers and industry, if Hungary chose the German energy supply model – building a dual energy system. He added: 17 mil CO2-emission can be prevented by the Paks II. investment.

He reminded, that producing Hungarian electricity per unit emits 40% less CO2 than the „fiercest” climate protector Germany. It is the biggest coal user in the EU, one-third of the EU’s coal consumption, 222 mil tons of coal is burned yearly, more than the three next biggest consumers in the EU combined.

The minister reminded, the result of the in-depth investigation of the European Commission proved, the revenue to be produced by the two new units covers all costs: capital, fuel, operation, maintenance, waste management and decommissioning in the far future. In addition, the power plant will generate a profit of 7,35%per year for the owner, the Hungarian state, also according to the calculations of the Brussels body. The contract also ensures that the new units remain 100% state-owned.

János Süli noted that neither the current, nor the future NPP units will endanger the ecosystem of the Danube.