Rosatom chief: We will answer all questions the new Hungarian government may have about Paks II

Alexey Likhachev, the head of Russia's Rosatom, reacted to the ministerial hearing of István Kapitány, Hungary's incoming Minister of Economy and Energy, during which the politician stated, among other things, that one of his first tasks would be to review the contracts for Paks II. (The contracts related to the construction of Hungary’s second nuclear plant were signed by the third Orbán government in 2015, and were immediately classified for thirty years-ed.) Likhachev told Russian journalists that the company is ready to provide comprehensive information to the relevant authorities as soon as the new Hungarian government is formed and emphasized that in his view, both sides would like to see the project which is important for the Hungarian economy brought to realization.

According to the Russian TASS news agency, Likhachev said that Rosatom has unparalleled experience in the construction of nuclear power plants abroad, and no one in the world understands the economic aspects of such projects better than they do. As he put it, numbers are rational things; they will be able to easily explain the figures if that is what the Hungarian side needs them to do. He added that it is not surprising that the relevant contracts are classified, given that nuclear power plants are special facilities.

He also said that once the new Hungarian government has been officially formed, all competent officials will be able to review the contracts and ask any questions they may have, to which he believes they will be able to provide satisfactory answers. Likhachev also said that there is essentially no disagreement between the parties; it is in the interest of both Rosatom and the Hungarian leadership that this project, which is important for the Hungarian economy, be completed as quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively as possible.

A few days ago, Rosatom’s CEO made an optimistic statement about Paks II, saying that he hoped they could resume and accelerate the project with the new government. In mid-April, former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview with Patrióta that he regretted the delays related to Paks II, noting that it should have been built much faster. Orbán then said that if this had been accomplished, Hungary would have more energy, the economy would be doing better, and not getting it done was a major failure of the government.

We previously wrote about some of the reasons for the delay in the construction of the nuclear power plant here.