National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom has signed an agreement on designing and introduction of modified technologies to treat waste nuclear fuel with Holtec International (the United States), according to the Energoatom's announcement in the Visnyk Derzhavnykh Zakupivel state procurements bulletin.

The company said that the cost of the agreement is $299.97 million (value added tax not included).

The company said that the agreement was signed on January 29, 2015. The technologies and equipment are to be delivered to the customer by December 31, 2020.

As reported, in order to reduce waste related to the transporting of spent nuclear fuel, in 2003 Energoatom announced an international tender to select a company to build a centralized dry waste storage area for spent nuclear fuel from Yuzhnoukrainsk, Rivne and Khmelnytsky nuclear plants (Zaporizhia NPP already has its own spent nuclear fuel storage facility on site). The tender was won by Holtec International (the United States) in late 2005. Energoatom in December 2005 signed a contract worth EUR 127.75 million to design, license, build and commission a first stage of the storage facility.

The Ukrainian parliament passed a law on the construction of the central waste nuclear fuel storage facility in February 2012, and the issue with the allocation of a parcel of land was settled only in April 2014.

In late June 2014 Energoatom and Holtec International signed a supplementary agreement to a contract on the construction of centralized storage for spent nuclear fuel in Ukraine.

A feasibility study prepared by Energoproekt (Kyiv) foresees the projected capacity of the facility at 16,530 assemblies, including 12,010 from WWER-1000 reactors and 4,520 from WWER-440 reactors.

The capacity of the first stage is 3,620 assemblies, including 2,510 from WWER-1000 reactors.