MOSCOW, Dec 28: The removal of US funding restrictions on Hungary’s Paks II nuclear power plant has enabled Rosatom to significantly accelerate its operations, including expanded collaboration with Hungarian and European contractors, the Russian state corporation’s CEO Alexey Likhachev told Sputnik.
“We’ve now ramped up our work. As you know, the Americans have lifted several restrictions on funding for the Paks II plant. This has allowed us to restart financial flows and take our work to a new level, including with Hungarian and European contractors,” Likhachev stated.
The project had faced delays due to US sanctions imposed on Gazprombank and six foreign subsidiaries. Originally scheduled for March 2025, the pouring of first concrete for the plant’s fifth unit was pushed back to 2026, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in June.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the complete lifting of US sanctions against the Paks II project following his November visit to Washington. In December, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control authorized civil nuclear energy transactions with several Russian financial institutions, including the Central Bank and the Russian National Clearing House.
Hungary’s existing Paks nuclear facility, located 100 kilometers from Budapest, currently supplies nearly half of the country’s electricity. Once the two new units become operational, nuclear energy’s contribution to Hungary’s power grid is projected to double—a critical component of the nation’s energy security strategy, according to government officials.
The Paks II NPP will feature two Generation III VVER-1200 reactors built on a turnkey basis, with a guaranteed operational lifespan of 60 years. The project represents Russia’s first nuclear venture within the European Union.
Hungary’s nuclear regulator issued the main construction license in August 2022, confirming that the modern VVER-1200 units comply with the strictest international and European safety standards. ASE Engineering Company, a Rosatom subsidiary, serves as the project’s general contractor.
