Name of the Project
Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor 4 new safe confinement (NSC) structure project.

Location
Ukraine.

Project Owner/s
Chernobyl Shelter Fund, which is being managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Project Description
The NSC is the largest structure erected on a contaminated site.

The NSC forms part of the Chernobyl shelter implementation plan (SIP), which provides a step-by-step strategy for making the site of the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor 4 disaster an environmentally safe and secure site.

The structure is 105 m high, 165 m long, spans 256 m and weighs more than 40 000 t. Its frame is a lattice construction of tubular steel members built on two longitudinal concrete beams and will slide over the current shelter housing Reactor 4.

The NSC will be equipped with automated heavy-duty cranes. The structure will prevent the intrusion of water and snow, and provide equipment for the eventual deconstruction and dismantling of the old shelter and remnants of the damaged reactor.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
The cost of the entire Chernobyl SIP, of which the NSC is the most prominent project, is estimated at about €2.15-billion, based on a thorough and complete analysis of the final approved design of the NSC, and the current advanced status of the design and installation of its auxiliary systems.

Planned Start/End Date
The facility has been in commissioning since May 2014.

Latest Developments
The third and final stage of hot testing at the Industrial Complex for the Solid Radioactive Waste Management at the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor 4 NSC was started on October 26.

The complex is intended for the acceptance, processing and/or disposal of solid radioactive waste that was accumulated during the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s (NPP’s) operation and decommissioning, as well as operational radioactive waste from the Shelter object.

According to preliminary estimates, the forecasted volume of radioactive waste that will be processed will be about 180 000 m3, which in volume is equal to about 70 Olympic pools.

The portion of the solid radioactive waste is about 140 000 m³.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Bechtel (project management) and Novarka joint venture, comprising Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Bouygues Travaux Publics (NCS construction).

Contact Details for Project Information
Nuclear Safety Department of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, tel +44 20 7338 7195, fax +44 20 7338 7175 or email nuclearsafety@ebrd.com.