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Dhaka Friday,  Mar 29, 2024

Russia to increase Hungary s nuclear power capacity

Russian state nuclear power company Rosatom will expand Hungary’s only nuclear power plant, more than doubling its capacity in the biggest construction project in Hungary’s post-Communist history.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban signed an agreement on Tuesday on the project at Paks, in central Hungary, which already runs four Russian-made VVER-type reactors built in the 1980s.
Sergey Kiriyenko, Director General of Rosatom said Moscow was ready to lend Hungary up to 10 billion euros ($13.65 billion) for the construction of two new units, each of 1,200MW capacity.
In 2009, Hungarian Parliament approved a decision to add two more reactors to the four already operating at Paks.
Janos Lazar, a leading member of Orban’s cabinet, said in Budapest that the European Union had already approved a draft plan for the building the blocks, each with capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW) at a likely cost of around 10-12 billion euros.
Lazar said 80 per cent of the financing would be covered by a 30-year sovereign loan from Russia, while Hungary would have to put up the remaining 20 per cent.
The new blocks are not expected to come on line before 2023 and will remain in Hungarian state ownership. The construction could add 1 per cent to Hungary’s economic growth per year and up to 10,000 jobs.
Paks is run by Hungary’s state-owned MVW and is responsible for producing 40 per cent of energy consumed in Hungary.

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