At least five companies are expected to bid in a planned tender to expand the capacity of Hungary’s only nuclear power plant, in Paks, Paks Atomeromu CEO Istvan Hamvas told MTI at the Atomexpo trade fair in Moscow on Monday.
Considering the technical conditions the plant has already communicated regarding the type of block it wants, Paks expects the American company Westinghouse to offer its AP1000 reactor, Mr Hamvas said. The French could bid with their EPR reactor or a smaller-capacity Atmea reactor developed jointly with Mitsubishi, he added.
The EPR and Atmea reactors are made by Areva.
Mr Hamvas said the Russians could offer their VVER 100 reactor and added that South Korea was also expected to make an offer.
A top executive of Russia’s Rosatom said at Atomexpo on the same day that the company had made an offer for the Paks expansion and was waiting for a response by the government.
A week ago, Hungary’s government established a committee to prepare for strategic decisions related to the planned expansion of Paks. The committee is headed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
National Development Ministry state secretary Pal Kovacs on Tuesday said the government welcomed Rosatom’s intention to participate in the expansion of Paks but said it expected further offers and would analyse these in detail.
