Hungary plans barges and rock
Photo: Daniel Kiss/AP/TT

Hungary plans barges and rock barriers to restart Paks nuclear plant

Barges and 150,000 cubic meters of rock. These are Hungary's desperate measures to restart the Paks nuclear power plant, which normally accounts for a third of the country's electricity supply.

Paks has been almost completely shut down due to record-low levels in the Danube, whose water is needed to cool the reactors.

The low levels of the Danube are putting enormous pressure on Hungarian households and businesses, says Prime Minister Péter Magyar on social media.

After an extraordinary government meeting on site at Paks, he announces that 80-metre-long barges will be immediately lowered into the river, raising the level by 20 centimetres.

The next step is to transport 150,000 cubic metres of rock for river barriers.

"We have ordered work around the clock," says Magyar.

If it works, it is hoped that the water level at the nuclear reactors will rise by one metre, so that the plant can be put back into full operation.

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AuthorTT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers
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