By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Kiev: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a 190 million euro ($248 million) grant to Ukraine to complete the New Safe Confinement at the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
The Ukrainian government press service said it will be the last contribution to meet the 740 million euro target, 550 million euro of which was raised at an international donor conference in April 2011 in Kiev.
The New Safe Confinement contract is funded through contributions by over 40 donor nations to the EBRD Chernobyl Shelter Fund.
The project’s implementation will significantly reduce the risk of further radiological contamination and facilitate the deconstruction of the Object Shelter, often called the sarcophagus.
“Its implementation will also help deal with economic and social issues related to the deactivation of the Chernobyl NPP,” Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Valeriy Khoroshkovsky said.
The 29,000-tonne New Safe Confinement will enclose a territory measuring 257 metres by 164 metres using spans 110 metres high that will be slid over the existing Chernobyl sarcophagus covering Unit 4, which was destroyed by an explosion at the plant that sent a plume of radiation over large parts of Europe in 1986.
The goal of the New Safe Confinement is to transform the site into a safe and environmentally stable system. It is due for completion in 2015.