During the visit highlighting the start of the construction, the site was visited by János Süli, minister withour portfolio responsible for the Paks II. project, Alexander Khazin, project director for Paks II. of the Contractor, ASE Engineering Company, István Lenkei, CEO of Paks II. Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. and Zoltán Sáray, CEO of the company responsible for the construction, KÉSZ Construction and Assembly Ltd.

During this phase of the project on the site, more than 80 buildings will be constructed: offices, assembly halls, storage facilities. These are necessary for the implementation of the two new nuclear power plant units.

It is imperative for the Hungarian economy’s competitiveness that Hungarian people and national enterprises can get cheap electricity from a reliable, domestic source – highlighted János Süli, minister without portfolio responsible for the design, construction and installation of the two new nuclear power plant units of Paks.

 
Without the Paks NPP, there is no cheap electricity and the reduction of utility prices cannot be maintained either, since without the Paks NPP electricity could be produced at least 40% more expensive, and electricity based on renewables at three times of the Paks price. This would mean that electricity would be thousands of HUF more expensive per month for a Hungarian family. Based on the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority’s recent international price comparison research, of the EU members only Bulgaria offers cheaper electricity for the population than Hungary. To maintain this illustrious position, the use of the nuclear energy in the long run is inevitable. That is why it is of high importance to construct the new NPP units.

We need nuclear power plants to reach climate protection goals, where NPPs were shut down, pollution was significantly higher. For example in Germany, where nuclear power plants are being shut down, on the one hand they can’t reach the emission-reduction goals by 2020 – mainly because using weather dependent renewables means they have to use fossil plants also –, and on the other hand German people pay three times as much for 1kWh electricity than Hungarians.

Nuclear power plants produce electricity in industrial amounts without CO2-emission. That is why maintaining the share of nuclear – beside enlarging the share of solar energy – is a corner stone for Hungary’s climate policy. The minister recalled that one third of domestic electricity demand is covered by import – mainly from neighbouring countries’ fossil power plants. Therefore the Paks II. project is not only important to reach climate protection goals, but to reduce import dependence as well. We cannot rely on foreign power plants for having our own supply security.

The Contractor of the Paks II. project is the ASE Engineering Company which belongs to the engineering division of Rosatom. Alexander Khazin, senior vice president of ASE and project director for Paks II. Nuclear Power Plant highlighted: with the implementation of the facilities of the construction and erection base, the Paks II. project, realized by the Russian-Hungarian intergovernmental agreement, reached an important milestone. With these works the preparation of the construction of the two new Paks NPP units will start, there will be an ongoing work on the site. Thanks to the tender we got hold of a reliable Hungarian partner in KÉSZ Group. The new NPP units belong to the most modern and safest technology, the 3+ gen. NPP units. The new units will operate safely without any CO2-emissions, providing Hungary with clean and cheap electricity for a guaranteed 60 years, with a possibility of lifetime extension – pressed Mr. Khazin.

 
István Lenkei, CEO of Paks II. Ltd. said: The company as a customer is interested in realizing the the construction works of the Paks II. project with excellent quality. For this end Paks II. Ltd. works closely with the Contractor, ASE Engineering Company Jsc. Parallel with the construction on the construction and erection base, compiliation of technical documentation of 300.000 pages of the implementation license application is being done, which will prove the design documents of the new NPP units will meet every strict international, Hungarian and European safety requirements.

Zoltán Sáray, CEO of the company responsible for the construction, KÉSZ Construction and Assembly Ltd. said: his company presented the best offer for the tender of the facilities of the construction and erection base of Paks II. called for by the Russian Party, therefore KÉSZ received an important commission. Success was helped by several international references of the company and that it can rely on its own resources. All these guarantee that as one of Hungary’s major construction groups, KÉSZ Group can provide the buildings on time and at the highest professional standards, as was already done several times. The company which proclaims itself that it relies on knowledge, is also interested in the construction and assembly works of the Paks II. Nuclear Power Plant.

The attendees also visited the site itself and the already built 22/11 kV transformer station, which was provided by Paks II. Ltd. for the Russian party, and which was necessary to provide electricity for the construction works.