Construction of Bed Sill on Paks NPP Danube Stretch

The Hungarian government has ordered the immediate construction of a bed sill on the Danube between the Paks nuclear power plant and the settlement of Dunaszentbenedek, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said in a video message on social media on Wednesday.

Two 80-meter barges will also be stationed at the site and can be sunk to raise water levels by 20 centimeters in the short term, if necessary, Péter Magyar said after a cabinet meeting at the NPP. One of the barges will arrive on site on Wednesday evening and the other on Thursday, allowing for a full shutdown of the plant to be avoided until the bed sill is completed, he added.

"Persistently low water levels on the Danube are causing enormous harm to the Hungarian budget and economy. That's why we had to find a solution that could be implemented immediately," he said.

The prime minister said the construction of the bed sill, to start on Thursday, would ensure, within a couple of weeks, that water levels on the stretch where the water intake conduits used to cool the NPP are located would not drop under minus 90 centimeters, allowing Paks to operate at full capacity. The bed sill will allow river levels to be raised by as much as 1 meter, while presenting no risk during periods of flooding, he added.

He said that the short- and long-term solutions had the full support of authorities and experts. He added that both the mayors of Paks and Dunaszentbenedek had participated at the cabinet meeting and had ensured their backing for the investments.

Péter Magyar acknowledged the temporary rise in water levels on the Danube, but said forecasts showed water levels could fall to around minus 136-137 centimeters within 4 to 5 days. Without intervention, levels could drop under minus 140 centimeters in the coming week, forcing authorities to weigh a full shutdown of the NPP, he added.

The prime minister noted that a full-scale shutdown of the plant would cost the budget "at least HUF 50 billion," while the cost of the intervention ordered by the government was just HUF 6 billion.

Péter Magyar said heavy rain was not expected in the Danube catchment areas in the coming days or weeks, and the problem of water levels on the river could be around for months.

The prime minister called out the former Fidesz-KDNP government for failing to heed warnings by experts concerning the impact of falling water levels and taking no measures to set up alternative cooling systems at Paks.