"The scope of the consultant's work contributes to increase its cost," the auditors said in a recent report.
According to data from the Ignalina plant, 144.7 million litas (EUR 41.9 mln) was spent on the EBRD consultants' services in the decade from 2000 to 2010, or 16.1 million litas per year on average. Last year, the sum declined to 8.3 million litas. The plant's management has announced that the number of consultants will be reduced every year.
The number of generously-paid consultants working at the Ignalina plant has been cut to six this year, compared with 25 in 2002 to 2005. However, the cost-saving efforts did not spare the plant management from auditors' criticism.
"The absence of sufficient funding arrangements puts the completion of the decommissioning processes at risk," they warned.
The report shows that Lithuania's decommissioning project costs increased more sharply than those of Slovakia and Bulgaria.
