|
EBRD to administer decommissioning of Slovak nuclear plant
Marks third decommissioning under EC-backed initiative
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will administer the closure of a third nuclear power station in eastern Europe under an initiative supported by the European Commission and other donors. The EBRD will manage the decommissioning of Bohunice, in the Slovak Republic. Earlier this year, the Bank signed similar agreements to oversee the decommissioning of Kozloduy in Bulgaria and Ignalina in Lithuania.
Meeting today at the London-based EBRD for the first time was the Assembly of Contributors to the Bohunice International Decommissioning Support Fund. This fund currently totals €116 million, including contributions from Austria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the European Commission. The EC is committed to contribute €150 million for the decommissioning of Bohunice, of which €110 million has already been committed to the Fund. Other countries have indicated their intention to contribute further finance in the near future.
The meeting, chaired by Matthias Ruete, Director of Enlargement, Directorate-General of the European Commission (EC) and elected Chairman of the Assembly, was attended by representatives of donor Fund member countries, the EC and senior representatives of the Slovak Republic. Mr Ruete said this is an important step in the Slovak Republic's EU accession programme.
Following approval by the Assembly, Joachim Jahnke, EBRD Vice President, and Jan Sabol, the State Secretary for Economic Policy and Industry in the Slovak Republic, signed an agreement for work to begin at Bohunice. The agreement aims to decommission NPP-V1 Unit 1 by 2006 and Unit 2 by 2008.
Mr Sabol said he welcomed the assistance of the international community to the Slovak Republic in the closure of units one and two at Bohunice.
Mr Jahnke said he was pleased that the EBRD's role in administering nuclear safety funds in the region would now be extended to the Slovak Republic. He added that the EBRD has been administering similar funds since 1993 and had therefore gained valuable experience in this important task. In addition to the three international decommissioning funds, the EBRD also manages the Nuclear Safety Account and the Chernobyl Shelter Fund.
Also at the Bank today was the second Assembly of the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund. The Assembly, which met for the first time in June, approved funding for the Project Management Unit for the decommissioning of Bulgaria's Kozloduy and energy efficiency measures in the power sector. The agreements were signed by Milko Kovachev, President of the State Agency for Energy and Energy Resources, and Iordon Kostadinov, Executive Director of Kozloduy NPP, on behalf the Bulgarian government, and Vince Novak, Director of Nuclear Safety at the EBRD.
|
