Lithuania plans to decommission the first of two reactors at the Ignalina nuclear power plant by 2005.
This is the first time that the Lithuanian government has given a firm date for the closure of the RBMK reactor. This is seen as a move to improve Lithuania’s chances of being invited to join the European Union.
Closure of the first reactor is expected to cost approximately $2.5 billion, and the cost of fully decommissioning the plant has been estimated at over $4 billion.
