Ukraine moves new safety dome over Chernobyl's doomed reactor

CHERNOBYL, Ukraine: Ukraine on Tuesday unveiled the world's largest moveable metal structure over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's doomed fourth reactor to ensure the safety of Europeans for generations to come.
The giant arch's height of 108m makes it taller than New York's Statue of Liberty while its weight of 36,000 tons is three times heavier than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
The 2.1-billion-euro (RM9.82 billion) structure sponsored by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has been edged into place over an existing crumbling dome that the Soviets built in haste when disaster struck three decades ago.
"We welcome this milestone in the process of the transformation of Chernobyl as a symbol of what we can achieve jointly with strong, determined and long-term commitment," EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti said in a statement.
"We applaud our Ukrainian partners and the contractor and we thank all donors to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund whose contributions have made today's success possible," the EBRD president said.
The dome still needs to be fitted with radiation control equipment as well as air vents and fire protection systems that are due to start working by the end of 2017.
"The spirit of cooperation gives us confidence that the project will be completed on time and within budget a year from now," Chakrabarti said. — AFP