Canada contributing $12 mln to Chornobyl Shelter Fund – Canada's foreign minister

The Canadian authorities have decided to contribute $12 million to the Chornobyl Shelter Fund, Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Rob Nicholson.

"Canada is contributing $12M to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. We remain committed to supporting #Ukraine," Nicholson wrote on Twitter.

Canada will also assist Ukraine in countering organized crime, developing enterprises and strengthening nuclear security, he tweeted.

The Chornobyl Shelter Fund was set up in 1997 to assist Ukraine in achieving this goal. The New Safe Confinement (NSC), at a cost of EUR 1.5 billion, is the most prominent element of the EUR 2.15 billion Shelter Implementation Plan, the strategic framework developed to overcome the consequences of the 1986 accident.

With a height of 110 meters, a length of 165 meters, a span of 260 meters and a weight of more than 30,000 tons the New Safe Confinement is the largest moveable land-based structure ever built. It has been constructed since 2010 in a cleared area in two halves which have been lifted and joined.

The structure is currently being equipped with heavy duty cranes and other specialized equipment before it will be moved over the damaged reactor in late 2017. It will have a lifespan of a minimum of 100 years and allow for the future dismantling of the old shelter and its radioactive inventory as well as waste management operations.

To date, 43 donor governments have contributed to the Chornobyl Shelter Fund. In addition to its role as fund manager the EBRD has provided EUR 675 million of its own resources to support Chornobyl projects including the NSC.