The international donor community raised approximately EUR 90 million at
a conference in Kyiv on April 25, 2016, for the completion of the Interim
Storage Facility 2 (ISF 2) at the site of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant,
which was destroyed in April 1986.
"A crucial project at the site of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant
can now proceed to its final stages thanks to additional pledges by the
international donor community at a conference in Kyiv today. The pledging event
co-chaired by Ukraine and Japan as President of the G7 raised approximately EUR
90 million for the completion of the Interim Storage Facility 2 (ISF 2). Of the
total amount, EUR 45 million will be provided by the G7 and the European
Commission, while another EUR 40 million will be granted by the EBRD subject to
the approval by its Governors in early May," the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said in an announcement on its website.
The Government of Ukraine announced further contributions, and other donors
also made new pledges. Funding of the ISF 2 is provided through the Nuclear
Safety Account and the total cost of the project is EUR 400 million.
Once operational, the plant will process, dry and cut more than 21,000 fuel
assemblies from Chornobyl units 1-3, which will then be placed in double walled
canisters and stored in concrete modules on site. The spent fuel will then be
stored safely and securely or a minimum period of a hundred years. The ISF 2
will not be used for storing spent nuclear fuel from other nuclear power plants
in Ukraine or elsewhere.
Construction works of the facility – designed and built by the U.S. company
Holtec – are scheduled to be concluded by the end of 2016. After the plant has
received approval by the Ukrainian regulator full processing and storage can
commence in the following year. It will be the world’s largest dry spent fuel
storage facility.
"Thirty years after the Chornobyl accident it is of the utmost
importance to bring the joint efforts by Ukraine and the international
community to transform the site into an environmentally safe state to a
successful conclusion. The storage facility is an essential part of our work in
Chornobyl and today’s pledging event has provided financial means to achieve
it," EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said.
Ambassador of Japan to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi in turn announced on behalf of
the G7 members that he would also like to renew the G7's commitment in the
endeavour to convert the Chornobyl site into a stable and environmentally safe
condition, and request the international community to continue supporting
Ukraine in this endeavour.
The Nuclear Safety Account was established at the EBRD in 1993 as the
Bank's first fund to address nuclear safety issues related to Soviet-type
reactors. The following contributors are members: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the
European Community, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands,
Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and the
United States. Azerbaijan has made a donation to the work of the fund.
Today, the Bank is managing seven such funds, among
them the Chornobyl Shelter Fund through which the international community
finances the New Safe Confinement.
The accident in Chornobyl on April 26, 1986, destroyed unit 4 of the
nuclear power plant. The New Safe Confinement is currently under construction
and will eventually seal the reactor from the environment to prevent the
release of contaminated material and protect the existing shelter from external
impacts such as extreme weather. The giant structure is nearing completion and
commissioning is expected by late 2017.
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