Assembly of Chornobyl Shelter Fund donor countries to meet in London on April 29
The assembly of donor countries, the highest decision making authority of the Chornobyl Shelter Fund, and a fund raising conference are scheduled to be held on April 29, 2015, in London, MP Mykola Tomenko (Petro Poroshenko Bloc) said at a Verkhovna Rada sitting on Wednesday.
The Kyiv Resident Office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which acts as the administrator of the Fund's budget, has confirmed this information to Interfax-Ukraine.
Tomenko said he hoped that the Rada would adopt the law necessary for receiving another disbursement to complete the Shelter Implementation Plan.
On Wednesday, the Rada voted to support the recommendations of parliamentary hearings on decommissioning Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), the Shelter facility, and aspects of exclusion zone development, with 247 votes cast in favor.
As reported, the completion of a new safe confinement (NSC Shelter) at Chornobyl NPP is scheduled for late 2017, and the total cost of the entire Shelter Implementation Plan (the most prominent element of which is building the NSC) is estimated at around EUR 2.15 billion, with EUR 1.5 billion being allocated to build the NSC.
In December 2014, EBRD governors approved an additional contribution of EUR 350 million to complete the NSC in Chornobyl. This contribution, together with an expected contribution of EUR 165 million by the G7/European Commission, and EUR 100 million by non-G7 donors, are expected to be raised during the donor conference in London, which will cover the current deficit of EUR 615 million..
The Donors Assembly includes representatives of 23 countries and the European Commission.
The EBRD works in close contact with the Ukrainian government to support the effective implementation of the project. It concludes agreements on grants with a recipient of a loan or grant, and disburses funds to contractors.