Corruption risks of the nuclear power plant investments: What can we expect in the case of Paks II?

In January 2014 the Hungarian Government announced that it reached an agreement with the government of Russia about the construction of two new units, which are to replace the current capacity at the Paks nuclear power plant. The project with its approximate volume of 3-4 billion HUF will be the biggest investment in Hungary in the next decade. As agreed the investment will be financed from credit provided by the Russian government. The study analyzes the corruption risks of the planned Paks nuclear power plant investment based on relevant economic theory and empirical results, summarizes the lessons learned from similar Hungarian and foreign investments, and gives an estimate of the expected social losses related to the investment, and arising from the corruption.