EBRD donors back plan to repair Chornobyl’s protective shield

Donors to the International Chornobyl Cooperation Account (ICCA), managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), have endorsed plans for early engineering and procurement works that will pave the way for potential repairs to the New Safe Confinement (NSC) at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, EBRD announced on 1 April.

A Russian drone strike in February 2025 damaged the NSC, the giant structure built to contain the remains of Reactor Four and enable the safe dismantling of the original sarcophagus, which was built after the 1986 accident.

Preliminary assessments estimated that the corrosion of the steel arch threatened the long-term safety of the NSC, and that work was needed to restore the structure to full functionality by 2030. Repairs could cost at least €500 million.

“The endorsed plan is designed to create a solid basis for a later decision on how the construction should proceed. Donors have approved the EBRD’s recommendation to allocate €30 million for this purpose,” EBRD said in a press release.

Donors to the ICCA currently include the European Union, France, Norway, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, the Taiwan Business-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund, Belgium, and Italy.

The ICCA was established by the EBRD at the request of Ukraine. It was set up as a multilateral fund to develop a comprehensive plan for Chornobyl. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the ICCA’s scope was broadened to support nuclear safety not just in Chornobyl, but across all of Ukraine. The EBRD-managed ICCA currently holds some €70 million in donor funds.

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Press release