Péter Szijjártó reported on the current developments of the Paks II. project at the meeting of the Parliament's Committee on Sustainable Development. – Construction work is taking place in compliance with the strictest safety and professional standards – the Minister said.

Regarding the details, he explained that soil excavation has been completed under both units to a depth of five meters, which means one and a half million cubic meters of soil, and thus soil excavation to a depth of 23 meters could also begin. The work of the cut-off wall, which was carried out by a German subcontractor, has also been completed. Soil improvement is currently underway, with a total of 75,000 piles to be driven, of which 35,000 have already been done.

He also reminded that one of the two long-lead items of equipment, the 730-ton core-catcher, has already arrived in Paks, and the other, the 330-ton reactor vessel, is currently being manufactured.
The Minister informed that the first concrete pouring could take place next January or February at the latest.

Péter Szijjártó also mentioned that 65.5 percent of electricity production in Hungary is currently carbon-neutral, with nuclear energy currently accounting for 70 percent of this. The four units of the Paks nuclear power plant operate with a total capacity of about 2,000 megawatts, and their load factor was between 90 and 91 percent last year. He also reported that carbon dioxide emissions from domestic electricity production had decreased by 53 percent compared to 2010. This was largely due to the fact that the 6,000 megawatts solar energy capacity target set for 2030 was achieved by the end of last year, thus bringing forward the 12,000 megawatts target originally set for 2040 by ten years.

“If we look at the long term since 1990, we are well above the European Union emission reduction average,” he underlined, adding that while Hungarian emissions fell by 37 percent, globally they increased by 62 percent.