Hungary allowed Russia to build NPP "Paksh II" in its territory: what is it for the project?

Rosatom has long demanded a license for the construction of a nuclear power plant in the European Union. The Hungarian nuclear power department yesterday, August 25, issued the Russian State Corporation "Rosatom" permission for the construction of the Paksh II nuclear power plant. This was reported on the regulatory body's website. So Hungary allowed Russia to expand the NPP "Paksh", which is the only working nuclear power plant in the country.

In particular, Rosatom plans to build new units here, namely the 5th and 6th, increasing the capacity of the atomic object twice. The license is valid within ten years from the date of its signing. Russia has been seeking a license for the construction of its own nuclear power plant for many years. The Parliament of Hungary was approved in 2009 in 2009.

In 2014, Hungary signed a contract with Rosatom for the construction of the fifth and sixth blocks with reactors according to Russian VVER-1200 technology. However, the European Union was delayed with such a decision. Only ten years later, in 2019, Hungary reported that the permission from the EU was still obtained. At the same time, the first installation and construction work on the site began. However, Rosatom continued to wait for an official construction license.

In May this year, the head of the State Corporation Alexei Likhachev stated that sanctions would not affect the construction of a nuclear power plant and a license. The cost of the project is about 12. 5 billion euros. According to some media, the Construction for the Construction of Paksh II could be a condition that Russia agreed to give Hungary an additional 700 million cubic meters of gas. Earlier in August, Russia resumed supply of oil to Hungary and Slovakia by the Druzhba oil pipeline.