An international donor conference allocated funds to complete the works on creating a new safe confinement (NSC). This protective structure for the destroyed reactor No. 4 will be placed at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Representatives of the G7 and the European Commission at the conference agreed to provide additional investments of €165 million into the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. Other countries that participated in the event also committed to allocate 15 million euros for the sarcophagus. Additionally, the EBRD plans to provide 350 million euros for the project in the coming years.
It should be noted that recently, the NSC project faced a funding shortfall totaling 615 million euros, which has now been reduced to €85 million from the international community.
The allocated funds are expected to allow for the immediate continuation of works in Chernobyl. Meanwhile, the remaining deficit will also soon be covered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The Chernobyl Shelter Fund was established in 1997. Its goal is to assist Ukraine in constructing the sarcophagus. Standing 110 meters high, 165 meters long, with a span of 260 meters and weighing over 30,000 tons, the new safe confinement is the largest movable structure ever built on land. It has been under construction since 2010 on a free site in two parts, which were later raised and joined.
The structure is currently equipped with special cranes and other specialized technology aimed at moving the building over the emergency reactor in 2017. The lifespan of the sarcophagus will be at least one hundred years, allowing for the subsequent dismantling of the old shelter and its radioactive inventory, as well as waste disposal.
To date, 43 donor governments have contributed to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund.
As previously reported by INKORR, on April 28, a forest fire was recorded near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The fire began in the 'Chernobyl Puscha' area near settlements in the Ivanivskyi district. The fire covered an area of more than 320 hectares of forest.
As of six o'clock in the morning on April 29, the fire had been localized, with more than 300 people battling the flames for almost a day. According to the State Emergency Service, the situation is currently under control.
At present, the main cause of the fire in Chernobyl is suspected to be arson. Such suspicions arose due to the fire hotspots in the area. It has been reported that the ignition occurred in several places on both sides of the river.