Awwal 15, 1432, April 19, 2011, SPA -- Several countries and international organizations on Tuesday pledged at least 550 million Euros ($785 million) to fund efforts to help Ukraine to deal with the after-effects of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl 25 years ago. The pledges were announced by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych at one of a series of conferences on the accident held in the capital Kiev. "This conference has been a success, and its results have been unprecedented," Yanukovych said. He noted that the disaster has had worldwide consequences that require a worldwide response. Representatives of the G8 group of major industrial nations said their countries would contribute a total of 332 million Euros towards building a new containment structure around the remains of the reactor destroyed in the 1986 disaster, according to a report of DPA. The new shelter, which would also cover an adjacent waste facility, will cost at least $740 million to construct, according to official estimates.
