The first agreement covers the design and construction of a new enclosure to surround reactor 4 to replace the quickly-assembled and now-disintegrating “sarcophagus” that was put into place after the 1986 accident.

In April 1986, reactor number 4 at Chernobyl exploded, sending radiation across a large region of what is now the Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia in the worst nuclear power accident ever. According to most reports, 40 radionucleotides were released into the environment.

The second EBRD grant agreement will allow Chernobyl to sign a contract for the completion of an interim storage for spent fuel from the still operational units 1, 2 and 3 at Chernobyl.

Plans for the storage facility are said to be 190 metres wide and 200 metres long, with a completion date of 2015, edie.net reported. The steel structure will weigh 18,000 tons and will have a half-cylinder shape, the news wire said.