The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide an additional 350 million euros (about 435.12 million U.S. dollars) for the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's "Confinement" project, the bank said Tuesday.
The additional funding will be used for the completion of a new shell over the damaged Chernobyl reactor to convert it into a safe and environmentally secure facility, the bank said in a statement on its website.
The EBRD is anticipating that the European Commission and the Group of Seven will also make a contribution of about 205 million dollars into the project, the bank said.
Besides, a pledging event for other potential donors is scheduled to take place next spring, aiming to raise a further 124 million dollars to fund the Chernobyl "Confinement" project, it said.
The project, involving constructing a sarcophagus over the damaged Chernobyl reactor, is estimated to cost about 2.1 billion dollars and scheduled to be completed in 2017.
In April 2011, the Ukrainian government raised 726 million dollars for the project, of which about 403 million dollars came from the EBRD.
In the early hours of April 26, 1986, No. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded, spewing a radioactive cloud into the air. To prevent further leakage of radiation, the Ukrainian government in 2012 began the construction of the arch-shaped 120- meters high and 150-meters long sarcophagus over the damaged reactor.
Source: Source: Xinhua
