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Funding of Wismut

Financed by the Federal Republic of Germany with 7.3 billion Euros until the end of 2024.

Historical Background

The remediation of the legacy of uranium mining in Saxony and Thuringia is a large-scale ecological project that is unique in its scope worldwide. Following German reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany acquired half of the shares in the two-state company SDAG Wismut. With the government agreement with the USSR on May 16, 1991, the Federal Republic took on the responsibility for the entire Wismut company, along with all its ecological, financial, and social dimensions and risks.

Transformation into Wismut GmbH

On December 20, 1991, SDAG Wismut was transformed into a company under German law: Wismut GmbH. The sole shareholder is the Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. As an institutional recipient of funding, Wismut GmbH is responsible for implementing this ambitious project.

Allocated financial resources

By the end of 2024, 7.3 billion euros will have been allocated from the federal budget for the sustainable safeguarding of the former uranium mining region. The funds provided are earmarked for Wismut GmbH and are allocated based on annually prepared financial plans.

Funds until the end of 2024: 7.3 billion euros
Saxony: 3.5 billion euros
Thuringia: 3.8 billion euros

Funds for 2024: 129 million euros
Saxony: 55 million euros
Thuringia: 74 million euros

Funds requested for 2025: 126.5 million euros
Saxony: 51.5 million euros
Thuringia: 75.0 million euros

Financing of the Wismut stewardship sites

According to the Wismut Act of 1991, no funds were available for the remediation of the uranium mining legacies of SAG/SDAG Wismut that were not assigned to the company in 1990. In September 2003, a administrative agreement between the federal government and the state of Saxony established the financial basis for the remediation of the previously abandoned Wismut sites in Saxony.