UK Allocates £17 Million to Repair Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Containment Facility in Ukraine

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 15, the UK Treasury and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office announced that they will provide £17 million (approximately $22.54 million) to repair the New Safe Confinement facility over Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The funds will be incorporated into an international repair program coordinated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), focusing on restoring the radioactive containment and ventilation functions of the damaged protective structure. The program is being implemented by the EBRD together with the Ukrainian government and G7 donors.

On February 14, 2025, the facility was struck by a drone attack, which penetrated the inner and outer cladding, creating a breach of approximately 15 square meters, damaging about 200 square meters of panels, and also affecting the internal crane system, environmental control and ventilation equipment. The EBRD's technical assessment shows that the damaged structure has lost its original airtight performance, and the steel arch is at risk of corrosion. After the attack, radiation levels monitored at the nuclear power plant remained within permissible limits.

The New Safe Confinement is a large steel arch structure covering the site of Reactor 4, standing 110 meters high, 257 meters wide and 162 meters long, with a designed service life of 100 years. The facility was built by the NOVARKA consortium composed of VINCI and Bouygues, slid as a whole over the reactor in 2016, and completed commissioning and was handed over to Ukraine in 2019. In addition to confining radioactive materials, the facility is equipped with a large crane system inside for dismantling the old sarcophagus structure built after the 1986 nuclear accident.

The preliminary assessment published by the EBRD shows that a full repair will require at least €500 million, and the work needs to be completed before 2030 to control the risk of further corrosion of the steel arch. The International Chernobyl Cooperation Account managed by the bank has approved €30 million in advance engineering funding, to be implemented in three phases covering the consolidation of technical documentation, investigation of damaged areas, design of repair options, detailed engineering design, and preparation of procurement documents. The third phase will also arrange advance procurement of long-lead equipment as actually needed.

On September 16, 2026, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant signed the first-phase engineering contract with the NOVARKA 2 consortium, launching the engineering design and technical preparation work required for repairing the confinement facility. The consortium, composed of Bouygues Travaux Publics and Vinci Construction Grands Projets, will undertake the advance engineering tasks. The repair plan will determine the engineering approach and implementation conditions in accordance with the requirements of Ukraine's nuclear safety regulator.

The UK has previously provided a cumulative €8 million in donations through the International Chernobyl Cooperation Account. According to follow-up arrangements announced by the EBRD, France, Ukraine and the bank plan to co-host an international donors' conference in Paris on November 9, 2026, to continue raising funds for the repair of the confinement facility.