Major work has also started on the second new unit of the Paks2 project

The Paks expansion has reached another important moment with the start of excavation of the soil under the future sixth unit, which is the first step in the preparatory works for the construction of the unit, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on Tuesday.

As the press release reveals, excavation of the soil under the future Unit 6 reactor of the Paks nuclear power plant has also started, initially to a depth of five metres, after the same has already been done for the planned Unit 5.

The scale of the work is reflected in the fact that the latter resulted in around one million cubic metres of soil having to be removed from the site, and thirty to forty trucks are currently carrying away the soil excavated by the eight machines.

It turns out:

At some points in Block 6, the excavation will have to be 23 metres deep to ensure stability and safe operation, which will be a next phase of the works.

Gap-facing work has started, and the reactor vessel is being built

Péter Szijjártó also pointed out that in the meantime, the gap walling works, which are extremely important for stability and safety, are underway, and some 700 metres have already been built. In addition, the construction of the reactor vessel is underway in Russia.

"This means that the completion of the works by 2030 remains a realistic objective", he said. The minister said that the expansion of the Paks power plant was an essential element of Hungary's long-term energy security, as it would enable the country to generate about 70 percent of the electricity it consumes. Domestic nuclear capacity will be increased from 2,000 to 4,400 megawatts, he concluded.