"We have received a letter from Győző Orbán. Just as Viktor Orban arrived on a private jet to summer in Croatia, amid a time of crisis, his father, after much cajoling, offered a large volume of stones for Paks. I'll just say that the stones will not be the new letter of indulgence," Prime Minister Peter Magyar said in a post on Facebook on Monday.

At a press conference on Thursday, Magyar acknowledged the support of Austrian-owned construction company Strabag and Hungarian peer KESZ in the effort to build the weir.

He added that "NER" companies — a Hungarian acronym used to refer to businesses that benefited from their close ties to the former Fidesz-KDNP government — were "sorely missing" from those who offered to help.

Output of the Paks NPP has been cut by three-fourths as water levels on the Danube, used to cool the plant, have fallen to record lows.

The underwater weir is expected to raise water levels around intake conduits and allow the plant to continue operating.

Magyar: Huge progress made on works in Paks

Huge progress has been made on the works in the River Danube near the Paks Nuclear Power Station, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said in a live Facebook video from the site on Monday evening, adding that the next two days will still be critical, with the top priority being to maintain nuclear safety and keep the two Paks turbines currently generating electricity in operation.

Magyar appeared in the video alongside Jozsef Gacsalyi, deputy technical director-general of the National Water Authority, Brigadier General Pal Kadar, head of the Defence Administration Office, and Laszlo Kotai, whom he introduced as the head of defence.

He said that enormous progress had been made over the past day and a half, but the next two to two-and-a-half days would be critical, as the water level at Paks stood at minus 129 centimetres, and a further drop of 8-9 cm was forecast.

"Over these two days, the most important thing is to maintain nuclear safety and to ensure the continued operation of the two Paks turbines currently generating electricity, which requires raising the water level by more than the rate at which it is falling," he said.

Magyar said the water level could start to rise from Wednesday evening, as it is currently raining in the Austrian and German catchment areas.

By next week, the water level could be 30-40 cm higher, and by then experts will have made progress on constructing the underwater weir, he added. If all goes well, planning for the gradual restart of the nuclear power station can begin from the start of next week, he said.

Kotai said that five tasks are currently being carried out simultaneously at Paks: the water is being replenished using barges, and work is progressing to counteract the impact of this by placing stones behind the barges.

The third task is the construction of the barge abutment, he said, adding that the concreting work for this has been completed.

The fourth task is the delivery of stones, and the fifth task is the construction of the left-bank section of the underwater weir, which is being carried out by members of the Hungarian armed forces.

Gacsalyi said that the two barges used to temporarily raise the water level of the Danube had been lowered by one metre on Sunday evening, and by a further half a metre by 10.00am on Monday.

Kadar said that the number of offers received for the construction of the underwater weir had exceeded 300, and that the quantity of stone offered and contracted would be sufficient for the project.

By 4.00pm on Monday, nearly 3,000 tonnes of stone had arrived on both banks of the Danube. "We are on schedule," he added.

He also said that there was a need for specialists who could operate heavy machinery and assist with the transport of stone. The brigadier general mentioned that the possibility of rail transport had been examined, but this would have resulted in a three-day delay.

Magyar said that last Wednesday the government ordered the construction of the Danube underwater weir required for the operation of the Paks nuclear power station, and in the first few days, the water level is being raised by the controlled sinking of two 80-metre barges.

"On Monday, thanks to the coordinated efforts of several hundred people and numerous donations, we managed to significantly restore the water level, and two turbines at Paks are now able to generate electricity reliably," he said.

He added that the entire project was scheduled to take 30 days, but could be completed in a shorter time.

Hungary opens Danube lock to raise water levels at Paks NPP

A lock on the Rackeve-Soroksar Danube branch has been opened, Hajnalka Hajdu, a senior advisor for the Defence Administration Office told MTI on Monday.

Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Sunday that the lock would be opened with the aim of boosting flow and raising water levels by 2cm.

Hungary is taking extraordinary measures to counter low water levels on the stretch of the Danube used to cool the Paks nuclear power plant. The NPP is operating at around 25pc capacity at present.
 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881.

MTI Stock Photo

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