- Status
- Closed
Background
By 2004 the TACIS programme had been operating for 10 years and had already committed more than €1145 Million to improving nuclear safety in the former Soviet countries. Along with Russia, Ukraine was one of the biggest recipients of TACIS assistance.
During the course of the present contract, the TACIS programme would come to an end and would be replaced by the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC), with further evolution of the programme priorities and activities. In addition to the continuation and deepening of the activities related to waste management and decommissioning of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant and other nuclear installations, On-Site Assistance (OSA) was expected to change emphasis from the traditional supply of safety related equipment for modernisation of the NPPs towards soft OSA, which was intended to improve the safety management of Ukrainian NPPs through the implementation of the best EU methods and practices.
These safety management projects would require a stronger involvement of the Ukrainian nuclear operator’s headquarters and would cover several if not all NPPs in order to ensure consistent approaches implemented throughout the company.
The JSO, having been setup and operating since January 2005, was expected to continue to play an instrumental role in achieving the programme objectives for Ukraine, mostly in the area of OSA to NPPs within the frame of the National Modernisation Plan. The JSO was also expected to play a major role in assisting the Ukrainian operator for the preparation and implementation of projects under the new instrument for nuclear safety starting in 2007.
Further to the above, the EU was one of the larger providers of financial contributions to the Nuclear Safety Account and to the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. In addition, a major set of projects in Chernobyl (worth some 80 million euros) for the realisation and operation of waste management facilities was implemented directly by the EC. This support had been programmed under different TACIS APs from 1997 up to 2006 and would continue in the INSC. The role of the JSO in liaising and facilitating this process was expected to be significant.
Objectives
The specific objectives of this contract were as follows:
To provide assistance to the EC, to Energoatom and to Chernobyl NPP (ChNPP) in the project cycle management of the EC nuclear safety programme in Ukraine, including, amongst others, the following:
- Provide Energoatom and the EC with logistical, technical and administrative support for the management of the TACIS nuclear safety programme; incl. the timely preparation of project proposals for the annual programmes in accordance with the EC rules and procedures in force,
- Provide the recipients and the EC with logistical, technical and administrative support for the management of the EC nuclear safety programmes, including interpretation and translation services as required. This task included assistance to the timely preparation of project proposals for the annual programmes in accordance with AidCo rules and procedures in force;
- Provide the recipients and the EC with logistical, technical and expertise support for the identification of safety management, safety culture and design safety projects to be proposed for the first three action programmes within the new INSC. Prepare the adequate Project Description Sheets (PDS) to be used by the EC for programming AP 2007 and AP 2008;
- Provide assistance to recipients' headquarters and the EC in the follow up of the various steps between the initiation of a project, the preparation of the necessary documentation up to its implementation; provide early warning where needed and recommend corrective measures;
- Provide the recipients with administrative and expert support for the process of the development and review of technical specifications or Terms of Reference;
- Attend relevant meetings (e.g. kick-off meetings) upon request of the recipients and the EC and prepare minutes of meetings and/or notes to file for the EC project managers;
- Organise special meetings in Ukraine and support EC staff on mission in Ukraine for such meetings, including interpretation and translation services, as required;
- Provide assistance to the EC in identifying local companies capable to participate in tenders organised by the EC in the field of nuclear safety.
- Provide logistical and secretarial assistance for the preparation and execution of meetings of the TACIS Supervisory Board for Ukraine (TSBU), including provision of translation and interpretation services as well as preparation of minutes of the meeting;
To establish a JSO website including an information exchange system regarding the various TACIS nuclear safety projects in preparation and in implementation and regarding the results and operating experiences of completed projects.
To provide assistance to Energoatom, to ChNPP and to the EC to prepare the future implementation of the new Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation.
In order to effectively carry out its responsibilities, the JSO would have to establish a network of contacts and work closely together with numerous stakeholders of the programme, including:
- The Ministries of Fuel and Energy and of Emergency Situations of Ukraine;
- Energoatom – the utility, responsible for operating all Ukrainian NPPs;
- The Administration of Exclusion Zone (AEZ) around Chnpp
- SNRCU of Ukraine – the State Nuclear Regulatory Committee of Ukraine, responsible for all regulatory and inspection functions regarding nuclear safety in Ukraine;
- ChNPP, Technocentre and other facilities subordinate to AEZ;
- Ukrainian design institutes;
- EU nuclear operators acting as On-Site Assistance Consultants at the NPPs;
- The Project Management Unit (PMU) for projects and activities at ChNPP
- Contractors and (local) subcontractors; in addition to,
- The European Commission EuropeAid Co-operation Office (AidCo) Nuclear Safety Unit;
- JRC – The Joint Research Centre at Petten, the Netherlands; and,
- EC Kiev Delegation.