Rosatom ready to answer any questions from Hungary about Paks 2 NPP, including cost - CEO

MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) - Rosatom is ready to answer any question from Hungary about the Paks 2 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) project, including its cost, the Russian state corporation's chief executive Alexei Likhachev told a briefing on Tuesday.

"The leader of the winning party [Peter Magyar] has already mentioned the name of our project several times, including, somewhat critically regarding the price," Likhachev said on Hungarian election results.

"We are open and waiting for the same kind of trust in implementing this project," Likhachev said.

"We can promise that this [project] will be our special priority," he said.

In 2009, the Hungarian parliament approved the construction of two new power units at the Soviet-built Paks NPP, Hungary's only nuclear power plant. The cost of the project was then estimated at 12.5 billion euros. In 2014, Moscow and Budapest signed an agreement on a long-term loan of up to 10 billion euros for the NPP's construction.

In late August 2022, Hungary's Atomic Energy Authority granted Russia's Rosatom state atomic energy corporation a permit to build the Unit 5 and Unit 6 at the Paks NPP. In May 2023, the European Commission approved amendments to the agreement on the facility's construction and financing.

The Paks 2 NPP groundbreaking ceremony took place in February 2026.