Donors praise Ukraine for cutting red tape for Chernobyl project 
Wed Jun 12,12:55 PM ET 

KIEV, Ukraine - International donors funding the construction a new
shelter for the damaged Chernobyl reactor said Wednesday that Ukraine
had taken important steps to reduce red tape and clear the way for the
dlrs 768 million project.


Dr. Hans Blix, chairman of the Assembly of Donors of the Chernobyl
Shelter Fund applauded a recent decree by President Leonid Kuchma to
streamline government bureaucracy surrounding the project.

"We are very satisfied with the outcome," he said. "I see a strong
determination by the president and the Ukrainian government to go
through with the project as planned."

The Chernobyl Fund, which is comprised of Western governments, the
European Union ( news - web sites) and Ukraine, has pledged dlrs 717
million to replace the existing sarcophagus over the reactor damaged
in the 1986 accident. Ukraine has earmarked the remaining dlrs 50
million. Vince Novak, the head of the fund, said dlrs 130 million have
been spent so far.

Officials at the Chernobyl plant said in April that gaps in the
concrete and steel shell that covers the damaged reactor total more
than 1,000 square meters (10,700 square feet).

Blix and Joachim Jahnke, vice president of the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, which manages the project, met with
Kuchma to review the project's progress.

Blix said that most of the organizational problems that had caused
delays in the project had been eliminated.

However, before the project can go ahead, Ukraine must pass
legislation exempting contractors from value-added tax and take care
of its debts to the fund, he said.

Last year, cash-strapped Ukraine failed to pay its dues to the fund,
bringing work to repair gaps in the original makeshift shelter to a
halt.

Work to construct the new shelter is not expected to start before 2004
and is to be completed at the end of 2007.

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