Government Commissioner for the Paks Nuclear Power Plant Attila Aszódi and Kirill Komarov, Deputy Director General of Rosatom opened the Atomex Europe 2015 conference and exhibition in Budapest.
Kirill Komarov, Deputy Director General of the Russian state-owned nuclear concern Rosatom stressed at the opening ceremony of the two-day event that their network of partners is continuously expanding, and Hungarian companies are also able to supply their orders. Their electronic procurement system is open to anyone interested.
Attila Aszódi, the government commissioner responsible for the maintenance of the performance of Paks Nuclear Power Plant highlighted that Hungary relies on nuclear energy which, combined with renewable sources of energy, is also necessary for honouring the undertakings which were made in the field of climate policy.
Mr Aszódi reiterated at the opening ceremony of the conference that the construction of the new Paks blocks will begin in 2018; the necessary planning and authorisation work will be completed beforehand.
The government commissioner pointed out that, based on the main contracting agreement signed last December, the turn-key delivery of the new blocks will be the Russian party’s responsibility, including the selection of subcontractors, and the Budapest event provides a great opportunity for Rosatom and potential partners, including Hungarian suppliers, to meet. He added: based on the inter-state agreement, Hungarian suppliers may account for 40 per cent of the value of the Paks project.
Mr Aszódi said regarding the investigations of the European Commission related to the Paks blocks that they will professionally answer the Commission’s questions in a timely fashion. The government commissioner reiterated that the Paks project can be implemented without state aid, and the Hungarian Government takes the view that it has the right to sign an inter-state agreement with a third country for the enlargement of the nuclear power plant in compliance with the rules of Euratom and the Commission.
At the press conference held during the break of the conference, Kirill Komarov told the press that the construction of the new blocks will begin in 2018, and they have drawn on the capacity of Hungarian suppliers already during the preparatory phase, while during the peak stage of the construction works, some 4 to 5 thousand people will be working on the project. The vast majority of the construction workers will be Hungarian, and he believes that Hungarians may also supply equipment.
Mr Aszódi stated in answer to a question regarding the percentage of Hungarian suppliers that thorough preparations are necessary as nuclear power plants constitute a very specific field. At the same time, Hungary has accumulated considerable knowledge in the field of atomic energy in recent years.
In answer to a question, the Deputy Director General of Rosatom said that the Hungarian party is negotiating with the European Commission, and remarked that the construction of nuclear power plants is not customarily put out to international tender, given that it is required to meet so many diverse criteria that simply cannot be accommodated in a single tender. He mentioned as an example the failure of the international tender invited by the Czechs for the enlargement of the Temelin nuclear power plant.
At the press conference, Kirill Komarov said that Rosatom has orders worth USD 100 billion for the construction of nuclear power plants in the next ten years, and based on the lifecycles of these projects, their order portfolio is in the magnitude of some USD 300 billion in total.
At the opening ceremony, jubilee commemorative medals were awarded to József Pónya, former Chief Executive of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, János Gadó, former Director of KFKI, and Zoltán Szatmáry, Professor of the Budapest Technical University, marking the 70th anniversary of Russian nuclear industry. More than 300 participants from Central- and Western-Europe are attending the conference and exhibition.