Energoatom to allocate UAH 170 m to build central nuclear waste storage facility in 2009, says minister

16:08

The National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom plans in 2009 to allocate UAH 170 million to a project to build a central nuclear waste storage facility for three out of four of Ukraine's nuclear plants, Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan said during a meeting on the realization of infrastructure projects in the energy and coal sector in Kyiv on Tuesday.

He said that the total cost of the project is estimated at EUR 146.6 million.

The minister said that the major stage of construction would start after the adoption of a law on the location, design and construction of the facility by the parliament.

As reported, in order to reduce waste related to the circulation of spent nuclear fuel, in 2003 Energoatom announced an international tender to select a company to build a centralized dry waste storage area for spent nuclear fuel from the South Ukrainian, Rivne and Khmelnitsky nuclear plants (Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant already has its own spent nuclear fuel storage facility on site). The tender was won by Holtec International (the United States) in late 2005.