Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 21 August 2023, the general contractor of Paks-2 NPP project, JSC Atomstroyexport (Engineering Division of Rosatom State Corporation), started work on the main stage of construction of two new VVER-1200 power units of generation 3+. 

The contractor, Hungarian company Duna Aszfalt Kft., started preparations for the excavation of the pit under the future power unit No. 6. And the company Bauer Hungary Kft started the deployment of soil consolidation works while continuing the construction of groundwater cutoff in the construction site.

The works of the main period  started after the parties signed the amendments to the contract for the construction of two new power units on August 18, and the Hungarian customer of the Paks II NPP project, Paks II Nuclear Power Plant Ltd., issued the relevant official notification on the transition of the project to the second, i.e., the main, construction stage.

The pit excavation under the future power unit No. 6 to the depth of 5 meters is only the beginning of a huge work, but even what was done so far is really a huge accomplishment; the area of excavation covers the territory of four soccer fields, and the volume of soil to be removed is about 1 million cubic meters. According to the plan, this work on the site of power unit No. 6 will be carried out by the end of this autumn.

The authorisation received to proceed to the work of the second, i.e., the main, stage also makes it possible to start production of the main power equipment both at Russian enterprises and at Rosatom's partner enterprises. Today, instructions were given to manufacturers on behalf of Atomstroyexport to start such production.

The transition of the NPP Project to the main stage allows the construction of all major buildings and structures to commence. The new stage will require a significant increase in personnel, machinery and equipment. The intensity of work on the project will consistently grow.

Hungarian and European companies, as well as companies from third countries, show great interest in participating in the Paks II NPP project. As a result, the Hungarian economy will get not only a reliable source of power generation, but also a multiplicative effect from significant tax revenues, the creation of new jobs of which only during the construction of the plant there will be about 10 thousand, and the Russian industry will get a large number of orders for the production of equipment.

The Paks II NPP project with two VVER-1200 power units of generation 3+ is implemented based on the Russian-Hungarian intergovernmental agreement signed on January 14, 2014, and three basic contracts for the construction of the new plant. The main license for the construction of the Paks II NPP was obtained in August 2022. This was the first time that the licence to build this type of power units had been granted within the European Union. Obtaining a construction license confirmed that the new power units comply with Hungarian and European safety standards.  Power units No. 5 and No. 6 of the Paks II NPP have a guaranteed lifetime of 60 years. The contractor is the Managing Company of the Engineering Division of Rosatom State Corporation – JSC Atomstroyexport (JSC ASE).  At present, four power units with VVER-440-type reactors are operating at the Paks NPP built according to the Soviet design. The plant generates more than 50% of the electricity produced in Hungary.