The reconstruction of the confinement that covers the fourth reactor of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant will require more financial investments than are currently available in the special fund of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Guardian reported on May 7, citing its sources.
Russian forces struck the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant with a drone on Feb. 14, breaking through the confinement and creating a 15-meter hole in it. The attack also led to a fire, which took nearly three weeks to extinguish.
"Not fixing it is not an option," Eric Schmieman, an American engineer who worked on the design and structure of the Chornobyl shelter for 15 years, told the Guardian.
A complete repair would "cost a minimum of tens of millions of dollars and it could easily go to hundreds of millions,"with the repairs taking "months to years," according to Schmieman.
Other sources familiar with the assessment echoed Schmieman's stance, adding that while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has 25 million euros ($28 million) in funds for emergency work at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, "significantly more funding is required" to address the problems caused by the attack.
According to the Guardian, the confinement will be restored by the governments of Western countries, including the U.K.
The nearly $2.3 billion New Safe Confinement (NSC), consisting of two double arches, was completed in 2017. The structure covered the Soviet-era sarcophagus installed over the fourth reactor of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, where the accident occurred in 1986.
Kateryna Hodunova
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