Construction on the two new units of the Paks nuclear power plant is expected to commence in 2018.
The agreement was signed by Atomenergoproekt, which is a subsidiary of Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, with Hungary’s Paks, in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Speaking at a news conference, the Hungarian government commissioner for the project Attila Aszodi said that the agreement is with regard to the plant’s design, operation and maintenance.
Paks in Hungary’s first and only nuclear power plant, which is located 5km from the central town of Paks.
Currently the Paks nuclear facility has four VVER-440 reactors and the latest agreement will add two more, thereby doubling the capacity of the plant, which is located about 100km south of Budapest.
Of the two new reactors, the first is expected to go online in 2025 and the second a year later, reports The Moscow Times.
Russia will provide finance for the major part of the project, which is estimated to cost $15.5bn.
Press TV quoted Aszodi as saying: "The Russian side made it clear to us that the necessary financial resources are ready. It is already a part of their 2015 budget."
Earlier this year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban signed a basic deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the construction of the two nuclear power-generating units.
Of the four existing reactors in the Paks nuclear facility, the first unit went on stream in 1982. The plant currently produces 50% of the country’s nuclear power.
Image: The Paks nuclear facility in Hungary. Photo: Courtesy of Barna Rovács (Rovibroni).
