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NSA grants ECU 118 million to support Chernobyl NPP closure
As part of the international effort to close the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) by the year 2000, the Nuclear Safety Account (NSA), administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), is giving an ECU 118 million grant to CNPP to finance decommissioning facilities and short-term safety measures.
The grant agreement was signed at the EBRD's headquarters in London today by Victor Chebrov, Chairman of DerzhComAtom, and Sergey Parashyn, CNPP's Director General. Carlo Mancini, Chairman of the NSA Assembly, was also present. Signing on behalf of the EBRD, Joachim Jahnke, Deputy Vice President, noted: "This is a very concrete step by the Ukrainian government and the international community towards the closure of Chernobyl. We are all under a tight schedule and this is an important development and strong indication of the resolve of all parties to reach this vital goal."
The grant agreement comprises three elements:
- provision of an interim spent fuel facility to permit safe storage of spent fuel assemblies from the power plant;
- provision of a liquid radioactive waste-treatment facility to immobilise the backlog of operational waste which is unsafely stored at the station;
- safety measures for Unit 3 for implementing short-term and operational safety improvements prior to closure. (This represents 8 per cent of the grant.)
The project will be implemented by CNPP, which will set up a project management unit including international experts in engineering, planning and procurement. It is anticipated that more than 50 per cent of the work will be provided by Ukrainian enterprises. Procurement of equipment for the project will be undertaken through open tendering by firms from donor and east European countries.
The total amount of financing agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Ukrainian government, the Group of Seven and the European Union (EU) in December 1995 for the preparations leading to decommissioning and the nuclear safety of Chernobyl is US$ 350 million. This is shared among the NSA, the EU TACIS programme and other bilateral donors.
The NSA is administered by the EBRD on behalf of 15 contributors: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America and EU. To date, contributions have reached a total of ECU 257 million which has been committed for projects in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Russia and now in Ukraine.
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