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NDEP’s Nuclear Window enters implementation phase
Decommissioning of Soviet-built nuclear-powered ships gets under way
A first series of projects under the international effort to mitigate the
legacy of the operation of nuclear-powered ships and submarines of the
Northern Fleet in Russia are getting under way.
Work on the second phase of the Strategic Master Plan has begun. The Russian
authorities, local experts and international consultants will form a Programme
Development Team to develop the overall decommissioning programme, complete
complementary studies and develop projects. The tender process for the
international consultants is ongoing and has generated strong interest.
As part of the Strategic Master Plan the Programme Development Team will
develop the final Integrated Programme which is expected by April 2007. It
will serve as a tool for the Russian authorities to plan and manage long term
decommissioning activities in the region. It will also be a basis for the
identification of large scale infrastructure projects to be funded by the
Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) Support Fund or bilateral
programs.
Following an assessment provided by the first phase of the Strategic Master
work on several urgent projects has started. Contracts worth more than €12
million have been awarded for the creation of safe conditions for the storage
and unloading of spent nuclear fuel at the naval base of Gremikha; the
improvement of physical protection at Gremikha; and the establishment of a
radiation and emergency response system in the Murmansk region.
The NDEP Support Fund was established in July 2002 by the EBRD to pool grant
contributions for the improvement of the environment in north-west Russia.
Contributors to the Fund are the EU and Canada, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Belgium
has donated to the Fund.
The Fund operates and develops projects in close coordination with Russian
authorities and bilateral programs. All activities are undertaken under the
Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Programme in the Russian Federation (MNEPR)
signed in 2003, the implementation agreement between the Russian Federation
and the EBRD and the subsequent three Grant Implementation Agreements signed
in 2005.
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