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Nuclear Safety Account to grant ECU 33 million to upgrade Ignalina Plant in Lithuania
The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania will introduce urgently needed safety upgrades as a result of an agreement signed today between the Lithuanian Government, the Power Plant, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on behalf of the Nuclear Safety Account. The amount of the grant is ECU 33 million. The project had been approved by the Assembly of Contributors of the Nuclear Safety Account on 17 December 1993 subject to the acceptance by the Lithuanian Authorities of the terms of the grant.
The project was prepared in close cooperation with the G-24 Secretariat and bilateral assistance programmes, in particular with Sweden, in order to ensure consistency and complementarity of all international efforts. It will assist the implementation of a Safety Improvement Programme set up by the Lithuanian authorities.
Specifically, the project will provide equipment for operational and technical safety improvements, which will enhance the safety level of the plant's two units in the short term. This includes, among other things, new reactor trip signals, fire protection devices, a training simulator, and environmental monitoring equipment.
Project implementation will be the responsibility of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, which will set up a Project Management Unit for this purpose. The grant will fund project management and engineering experts to assist the Unit. Completion of the project is expected within approximately two years.
The Lithuanian Government has agreed that the operation of both units at the plant will not be prolonged beyond the time when their reactor channels will have to be changed. In addition, an in-depth safety analysis of the plant must be completed by the end of 1995 and a new licence by the Lithuanian Safety Authority (VATESI) will have to be granted if Unit 1 is to be operated beyond 1998. The Nuclear Safety Account will provide assistance with the safety study and its review by VATESI. Operation of Unit 1 beyond 1998 will also depend on the cost of possible further safety improvements and the energy situation of the country.
Lithuania has recently joined the Vienna Convention and its protocols on third party liability.
The Grant Agreement was signed by Mr Algimantas Stasiukynas, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania, Mr Victor Shevaldin, Director General of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, and Thierry Baudon, Deputy Vice-President at EBRD.
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