The BBC has a story pegged to the upcoming 25th anniversary of the meltdown of reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine. The report contains the usual haunting imagery from the accident, but it also details a cash shortfall facing a new shelter being planned to replace the hastily built “sarcophagus” that encases the reactor and the 200 tonnes of radioactive fuel that remains inside its core. The so-called New Safe Confinement (NSC) enclosure, is a massive sliding arch that is supposed to cover the reactor for the next 100 years.

But the construction is not going smoothly. In 2007, the enclosure was expected to cost $1.4 billion and be completed by 2013. The latest estimates put the shelter’s price tag at around $2.21 billion, and the project is facing a billion-dollar budget gap.

It’s not all down to the Western donors who promised money for the project. The Kyiv post has a report on the project from January, which claims that the General Prosecutor’s office has investigated 60 allegations of misspent aid over the course of the project. The article does not say whether any of the allegations have resulted in formal charges.

Regardless, more money will need to be found if Chernobyl is to be secured. The BBC says that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which is overseeing the project, will issue a call for additional money in April, to coincide with the official anniversary.

Image: Wikipedia