BREAKING: Rosatom head in Hungary, first concrete poured for Paks II NPP – photos

The first concrete for an expansion of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant was poured on Thursday.

Paks II to be a big advantage for Hungary, FM Szijjártó believes

With the first concrete pour for the plant’s number 5 block, the project officially qualifies as “under construction” according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó called the Paks II project the “flagship” for the revitalisation of nuclear energy in Europe and said it was a guarantee of affordable utilities bills.

He noted that the Hungarian government had taken the decision to upgrade the Paks NPP at a time when nuclear energy had been disparaged, but said the critics had since come to acknowledge that nuclear was the cheapest and most environmentally-friendly way to reliably generate large amounts of electricity. He added Paks II would give Hungary a big advantage in future.

Energy sovereignty

Szijjártó said many had tried and were still trying to block the upgrade of the Paks NPP, including “the former American administration, the liberals in Brussels and some of the Hungarian opposition“, but added that the government had not and would not allow those efforts to succeed.