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Chernobyl Shelter Fund releases first US$ 30 million
More than US$ 30 million will shortly be released from the Chernobyl Shelter Fund to finance the project management work at Chernobyl Unit 4 following the signing of a grant agreement today between Energoatom, National Nuclear Energy Generating Company and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Fund's administrator.
Joachim Jahnke, Vice President at the EBRD, commented: "The signing of the Grant Agreement is of enormous significance for a number of reasons: it effectively initiates the flow of money from the Fund to Ukraine. More importantly, it allows Energoatom to sign a contract with the winner of the project management tender and for work to start at the site. Lastly, it reflects the excellent cooperation between Ukraine and the EBRD on this project."
The project management unit will lead the reconstruction of the wrecked Unit 4 "shelter" at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant into a stable and environmentally safe structure.
Nur Nigmatulin, President of Energoatom, stated: "We are within days of announcing the contract award to a major Western consortium. Energoatom and the Western experts will form a strong management team which we need in order to achieve the ambitious project goals. So far, working with EBRD, we met them all."
The EBRD is administrator of the Nuclear Safety Account and the Chernobyl Shelter Fund.
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