Hungary awards Russia nuclear power deal

#mfg #manufacturing #engineering #nuclear Hungary has given Russia’s atomic energy corporation a contract to more than double production at its only nuclear power plant in a deal worth nearly $14 billion.

The agreement was signed after talks between Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The decision has caused complaints from EU officials, because it was made without a formal bidding process.

France’s Areva and the US electric company Westinghouse, as well as Japanese and South Korean power suppliers, had previously expressed interest in bidding for the contract.

However, Hungary’s Nepszabadsag newspaper reported that Russia’s Rosatom was the only bidder to offer a pre-financing deal.