The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has approved the preliminary safety report required for the so-called first concrete pouring during the Paks nuclear power plant investment, which is another important step in the project – announced Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Minister emphasized that the step authorized by the competent authority is one of the most important milestones in the construction of a nuclear facility. – In order to prepare the preliminary safety report, it was necessary to build the cut-off wall, and it was also necessary to collect the experiences gained so far during the soil improvement – he informed.

– This is a serious document, half a million pages in total. According to the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, this permit also means that after the first concrete is poured, this nuclear power plant will officially be considered a nuclear facility under construction, he added. He then underlined that the first concrete will be poured at the beginning of next year.
Péter Szijjártó then reported that the Paks expansion is currently the largest nuclear project with a construction license in the European Union. – A thousand people are already working on the site. Soil excavation is underway to a depth of 23 meters, and 39 thousand of the 75 thousand piles that need to be drilled into the ground during soil improvement, i.e. more than half, are already in the ground – he announced.