The UK has pledged to contribute £28.5m ($46.58m) to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to ensure safety and stabilisation of the nuclear disaster site at Chernobyl, Ukraine.
The nation contributed €81m ($116.59m) in the previous pledging rounds.
The funds will be used to construct a 257m-wide and 105m-high steel arch over the damaged Reactor 4 and a facility to safely and securely store the spent nuclear fuel from Reactors 1–3.
The funds will help to ensure safe and secure conditions of the 1986 accident site and the increasingly unstable sarcophagus over the damaged Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
UK energy minister Charles Hendry said the Chernobyl disaster had a profound effect on the Ukrainian people, their neighbours and their environment, and on the world.
“Many countries, including the UK, were affected by the radioactive material from the Chernobyl disaster. As a result governments across the world continue to work vigorously to ensure the utmost standards of safety,” added Hendry.
