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International consultants to support next phase of NDEP
Development of action programme together with Russian experts
Russia’s Foundation for Environmental Safety of Power Engineering, acting for
the Russian Federal Agency for Nuclear Power (Rosatom), has signed a contract
with British Nuclear Group and Fluor Ltd (UK) which will move the nuclear
clean-up in north-west Russia an important step forward.
Russian and international experts will jointly develop an integrated programme
to mitigate the legacy of operations of nuclear-powered ships and submarines
of the Soviet Northern Fleet in Russia. This will include plans for nuclear
decommissioning, environmental rehabilitation and safety and security
improvements and prepare for strategic decisions on how to tackle
“bottlenecks” for existing and future projects.
The programme, expected to be available in one year time, will serve as the
basis for all clean-up efforts in the region and will take into account all
bilateral initiatives. The successful bidder was chosen in an open
international tender. The EBRD will maintain overview of the programme
development and will administer funding.
The integrated programme will be developed on the basis of Phase I of a
strategic master plan which provides for a detailed analysis of the situation,
defines the long term decommissioning and rehabilitation strategy and
identifies the most urgent measures to be implemented. Following this
assessment, work on several projects has started - for instance, the
improvement of physical protection at the former naval base of Gremikha - and
is on-going.
The new contract is funded by the Nuclear Window of the Northern Dimension
Environmental Partnership (NDEP) Support Fund, established in 2001 and
administered by the EBRD. The Nuclear Window aims at helping Russia address
nuclear pollution stemming from the legacy of the Soviet Navy.
Contributors to the NDEP Fund are: Canada, Denmark, the European Commission,
Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the
United Kingdom. Also, Belgium has donated to the Fund.
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