The SSE Chornobyl NPP and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have signed Grant Agreement No. 6 “Works and Services to Support the Repair and Restoration of the New Safe Confinement at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the Russian Military Attack on February 14, 2025”.
The signing ceremony took place on April 26 within the framework of the International Chornobyl Conference on Restoration and Nuclear Safety. The event was attended by Director General of SSE Chornobyl NPP Serhii Tarakanov, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso, Director of the EBRD Nuclear Safety Department Balthazar Lindauer, and the First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Energy of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.
The €30 million grant will be provided from the International Chernobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA), which currently totals €70 million, including contributions made last year by France, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. Established in 2021 with the EBRD acting as Administrator, the ICCA supports dismantling, stabilisation, safety enhancement, monitoring and urgent response actions.
At this stage, the allocated funds will finance the Early Engineering and Procurement works (EEP), which will form the basis for effective solutions to repair the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at Chornobyl NPP following damage caused by a Russian drone strike. The work plan was approved by the ICCA donors at the Assembly of Donors meeting held in London on 31 March.
It is important to note that the Early Engineering and Procurement works do not constitute the repair itself. Instead, they are essential for informed decision-making regarding the NSC restoration and for developing cost estimates for the repairs. The program will lay the foundation for subsequent donor decisions on full-scale restoration of the NSC. The EEP is planned to be implementation in three stages over a period of 18 months. During this time, additional engineering surveys and studies will be carried out to comprehensively assess the condition of damaged systems and to develop safe, technically sound, and regulator-approved repair solutions.
According to the EBRD, it may be possible to proceed directly to repair works in 2028, with the restoration phase tentatively scheduled for 2028-2030. Preliminary estimates indicate that approximately 500 million euros will be required for these purposes.
The Bank is currently conducting consultations with potential partners to clarify the financing needs and timelines. During the International Chornobyl Conference on Restoration and Nuclear Safety, partners announced initial commitments totalling nearly 100 million euros.
“The tasks that we all face are significant. For its part, the Chornobyl NPP team is doing its best to maintain nuclear and radiation safety responsibly and professionally under wartime conditions. However, we cannot address all challenges alone, which is why continued international support is so important. We highly appreciate our partners’ trust, openness and commitment to the future of Chornobyl," emphasized Serhii Tarakanov, Director General of the Chornobyl NPP.