The Committee of Sustainable Development of Parliament supported the appointment of ministerial candidate without portfolio responsible for the planning, construction and commissioning of the two new blocks of the Paks atomic power station.
The Committee found János Süli suitable for the post with seven votes for and one vote against the candidate, and one abstention. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced in Parliament last Monday that he will appoint a minister without portfolio for the management of the Paks atomic power station project and the coordination of the related responsibilities.
János Lázár, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said at the meeting of the Committee: the preparations for the project were closed, as far as the Government is concerned, once the necessary Brussels approval was granted on 6 March. The Prime Minister intends to create a separate ministerial arrangement for the implementation of the project. As a result, the branch of executive power provides direct control for the legislature, and the principle of ministerial responsibility is enforced in Parliament, he pointed out.
Mr Lázár stressed: János Süli was elected as Mayor of Paks with a large majority against the candidate of Fidesz, is widely respected in the community, and worked in the atomic power station formerly where he gained local and international acknowledgement in his line of work. The Prime Minister wanted to entrust the construction of the atomic power station to an expert, rather than a politician, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office highlighted.
Mr Süli is an expert on atomic energy who will be able to coordinate the preparations for the project, to oversee the plans, to obtain the required permits and licences, and to take care of the implementation and commissioning of the project, Mr Lázár said. He stated: the Government offers its cooperation to the Committee of Sustainable Development as well as to other parliamentary committees in order for them to have a full overview of the project.
The Minister added: there is a socialist proposal regarding the setting up of an ad hoc committee which could continuously monitor the progress of the project. They have not ruled this option out and regard it as the basis for further negotiations, but the parliamentary groups will have to agree on this. Regarding the structure of the arrangement, he said: talks with the European Union will remain with the Prime Minister’s Office, while all other parts of the project will be transferred to the Minister without portfolio who will exercise the owner’s rights in respect of Paks II and will be responsible for the entire project.
Mr Lázár said concerning financing: according to estimates, work worth some EUR 100 million has been completed to date, and there is now no obstacle from Brussels to the disbursement of this sum. The Government agreed to continuously cooperate with the European Commission and to engage in joint monitoring, which undertakings it will honour, he stated. The Minister said: the Government has instructed the Government Debt Management Agency (ÁKK) to find „the most optimal solution” amidst the current market and financing circumstances.
„There are three options: drawdown of the Russian credit facility and its immediate repayment, drawing on some other international credit facility, or the financing of the entire sum from the central budget in the next few years”, Mr Lázár said. Fiscal conditions are such and the international prestige of the Hungarian budget and economy is so high that it is also possible to obtain credit from elsewhere, with the involvement of an international lender consortium, and to finance the project with a cheaper credit facility, while there is also scope for the central budget itself to finance the project without resorting to credit, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office argued.
He further highlighted that, in addition to the EUR 100 million tied down at present, works worth EUR 600 to 700 million may be completed or started by the parliamentary elections to be held next spring. He added: the on-site preparatory works of the project may begin in the second half of this year. They would like the construction works to commence as soon as possible as the construction works alone may generate a 1 per cent GDP growth and could provide jobs for 10 thousand people.