On the sideline of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has agreed with Russia’s Rosatom that work on Hungary’s new nuclear plant at the Paks site be accelerated in the autumn. Hungary intends to expand its 2,000 MW Paks nuclear power plant with two units of 1,200 MW each. Two new units of Paks II will replace all four units currently in operation. Paks generates 50% of domestic power production, and has a share of one third of the country’s electricity consumption.
In November 2020, the Hungarian Energy and Public Utilities Regulatory Authority approved Paks II, but the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority is yet to issue a construction licence. Acceleration of the Paks plans is more urgent, as Hungary has announced that it would close its last remaining coal-fired power plant in 2025 –five years earlier than planned.
A month ago, Hungary and Russia also agreed on delaying the loan repayment from 2026 to 2031. The Paks II investment is estimated at €12.5 billion, of which €10 billion is a Russian loan. Hungary will start repaying the loan from 2031 on, which means it can use income from Paks II to secure funds before that date.
