The expansion of the nuclear power plant in Paks has started. Rosatom is doing well in Hungary

The first layer of concrete was poured on Thursday for the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced on Facebook. The power plant is being expanded by the Russian state-owned company Rosatom.

During the opening ceremony of the expansion, Szijjarto noted that the Hungarian government had decided to develop the facility despite attempts to block it by “American Democrats and Joe Biden, Brussels liberals and domestic opposition politicians,” the Telex portal reported.

The power plant in Paks is being expanded by the Russian state-owned company Rosatom, which is building two new units with a capacity of 1,200 MW each. The project called Paks II is one of the key energy projects of Viktor Orban's government. The value of the entire investment is expected to be approximately EUR 12 billion. The project is to be fully financed by the Hungarian state, which borrowed funds from Russia for this purpose.

At the end of 2025, during a discussion as part of the Russian Energy Week 2025 in Moscow, Szijjarto announced that when the expansion is completed, “nuclear energy will cover 70% of Hungarian electricity demand.”

“ENuclear energy is our best option for stable supplies“

– As a landlocked country with no oil or gas deposits, nuclear energy is our best option for stable supplies – said the diplomat.

US sanctions on Russia's energy sector have no impact on the expansion of the Paks power plant, as Washington granted Hungary a sanctions waiver in November 2025, allowing transactions related to the project.

Currently, the power plant has four small VVER 440 reactors of Russian design with a total capacity of approximately 2,000 MW, which began operation in 1982–1987 and are scheduled to be decommissioned in 2032–2037.

However, the government in Budapest aims to extend their service life by another 20 years. Hungary also plans to introduce American small modular reactors.

Jakub Bawołek from Budapest (PAP)

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