The foundation pit of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant has been completed in Hungary. However, the ceremony to deploy the first concrete pouring was postponed for technical reasons, TASS reported.
"The foundation pit for the reactor of Plant Team No. 1 has been completed at the Paks-2 construction site. Currently waiting for permission from the Hungarian Atomic Energy Agency to start pouring concrete" - the Russian Embassy in Hungary informed.
The construction of the nuclear power plant in Hungary is being carried out under the project of Russia's state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom.
TASS reported that the Hungarian nuclear power agency - the project supervisor and licensor for each construction phase - has not yet turned on the green light for the first concrete pouring at the Pak-2 nuclear power plant.
Previously, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Rosatom Alexey Likhachev have repeatedly identified the first concrete pouring as scheduled for the end of March.
However, this plan had to be adjusted after recording cracks in the pit. According to Rosatom, this incident did not affect the technical specifications of the foundation, but the work at the foundation was suspended according to the decision of the Hungarian supervisory authority.
In other areas in the factory construction site, construction activities still take place without any restrictions.
Paks-2 CEO Gergely Jakli said "this event will not affect the future of the nuclear power plant construction project".
The Hungarian Atomic Energy Agency requested a report on additional handling and inspection measures taken regarding cracked soil and rock that have not yet been granted a first-time concrete pouring permit. It is expected that the implementation license will be achieved soon.
The Paks nuclear power plant, built by Soviet experts in the 1980s and using Russian nuclear fuel, provides half of the electricity produced and a third of the electricity consumed in Hungary. Currently, four VVER-440 pressure water reactors are operating at the Paks nuclear power plant, located on the banks of the Danube River, 100 km south of Budapest.
The construction of the second phase of the plant - the 5th and 6th processing groups - is underway. Moscow has confirmed it is ready to finance the Paks-2 project, estimated at 12.5 billion euros, with an expected 80% of the project budget coming from a Russian loan.
According to preliminary calculations, after the two new VVER-1200 reactors are put into operation, the plant's capacity will increase from the current 2,000 megawatt to 4,400 megawatt, thereby increasing the total share of energy generated from Hungary's nuclear reactor to 70%.
