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| Unique engineering feat concluded as Chernobyl arch has reached resting place  A ceremony in Chernobyl marked the successful conclusion of the sliding operation, a key milestone before the finalisation of the international programme to transform Chernobyl into an environmentally safe and secure state by November 2017.Thirty years after the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, the radioactive remains of the power plant's destroyed reactor 4 have been safely enclosed following one of the world's most ambitious engineering projects. Chernobyl's giant New Safe Confi nement (NSC) was moved over a distance of 327 metres from its assembly point to its fi nal resting place, completely enclosing a previous makeshift shelter that was hastily assembled immediately after the 1986 accident. The equipment in the New Safe Confinement will now be connected to the new technological building which will serve as a control room for future operations inside the arch. The New Safe Confinement will be sealed off from the environment hermetically. Finally, after intensive testing of all equipment and commissioning, handover of the New Safe Confinement to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant administration is expected in November 2017. The Chernobyl arch is the largest moveable land-based structure ever built, with a span of 257 metres, a length of 162 metres, a height of 108 metres and a total weight of 36,000 tonnes equipped. It will make the accident site safe and with a lifetime of 100 years allow for the eventual dismantling of the ageing makeshift shelter from 1986 and the management of the radioactive waste. The structure was built by Novarka, a consortium of the French construction firms VINCI Construction and Bouygues Construction. Works started in 2010. With a cost of €1.5 billion the giant structure is the most prominent element of the Shelter Implementation Plan for Chernobyl, which involved more than 300 projects and activities. The €2.1 billion programme is financed by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. Established in 1997, the Fund has received more than € 1.5 billion from 45 donors to date. The EBRD manages the Fund and is the largest contributor to the New Safe Confinement project. write your comments about the article :: © 2016 Construction News :: home page |