Paks II first concrete set for February after licences issued

The Paks II project company said the authority - the HAEA - "issued construction licences for the control building, auxiliary building and technological service building of Unit 5. The authority also made a positive decision regarding the partial commissioning licence for soil improvement of the nuclear island of Unit 5. Obtaining these licences is a crucial step toward starting concreting works, including the construction of the foundation slab of the nuclear island of Unit 5."

The Paks plant, 100 kilometres south of Budapest, currently comprises four Russian-supplied VVER-440 pressurised water reactors, which started up between 1982 and 1987. An inter-governmental agreement was signed in early 2014 for Russian enterprises and their international subcontractors to supply two VVER-1200 reactors at Paks as well as a Russian state loan of up to EUR10.0 billion (USD10.5 billion) to finance 80% of the project.

The construction licence application was submitted in July 2020, the licence was issued in August 2022, and a construction timetable was agreed in 2023. First concrete had been expected later this year, with a target to connect the new units to the grid at the beginning of the 2030s.

First concrete - after which point it will be officially classified as a nuclear power plant under construction - is now expected to be poured in February.

Rosatom said that the licences, which also covered nuclear island buildings, "confirm the project's compliance with strict international, European, and national nuclear safety requirements. A comprehensive approach to safety, including the use of active and passive systems, ensures compliance with all standards. Obtaining the permits allows for full-scale construction to begin, including active preparation for the pouring of the first concrete".

Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó told World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris on Tuesday that two million cubic metres of soil had been already excavated, and 43,000 cement columns placed in the ground as part of earthworks while 30 buildings have been completed and 50 more under construction. He said that long-lead items are being manufactured in six countries, with French and German companies involved, as well as the key reactor internals and steam generators being manufactured by Rosatom in Russia.

_{Preparatory earthworks have been taking place (Image: Paks II)}

In September the European Court of Justice backed Austria's appeal against Hungary's state aid for the construction of the Paks II nuclear power plant and said the European Commission "should have ascertained" whether the direct award of a contract "complies with EU public procurement rules". That means that the European Commission is re-examining whether or not to approve the state funding plan, which it had approved in 2017. Hungarian ministers have said the court's decision will not halt or delay the project.