Kazakhstan will provide another 1 million euro for the construction of a sarcophagus for the Chоrnobyl Nuclear Power Plant under the Chоrnobyl Shelter Implementation Plan, Kazakhstan's Minister for Economic Integration Issues Zhanar Aitzhanova has said.
In early 2011, Kazakhstan provided aid worth 2 million euro to Ukraine for the construction of protective facilities in Chоrnobyl, recently the Kazakh government took a decision to provide more financial assistance – another 1 million euro – for the Chоrnobyl Shelter Fund, Ms. Aitzhanova said at an international press conference in support of Ukraine in Kyiv on April 28.
In her words, Kazakhstan provided humanitarian aid – 300 tonnes of food – this January and is working on the provision of the 2nd aid package for Ukraine, Ms. Aitzhanova said. She noted that Ukraine is Kazakhstan’s fifth largest trade partner and both countries have been participants in the CIS free trade agreement since 2011.
The completion of the construction of the New Safe Confinement under the Chоrnobyl Shelter Implementation Plan is scheduled for late 2017, which is estimated at 2.15 billion euro; the main component of this project is the shelter construction with the cost of nearly $1.5 billion.
On Monday, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, said that the EU would provide another 70 million euro for the construction of the New Safe Confinement, whereas the project deficit still amounts to approximately 200 million euro.
The Donor Assembly, the highest decision-making body of the Chоrnobyl Shelter Fund, including 23 countries and representatives of the European Commission, will hold a meeting on April 29 in London to discuss the aid issues.
