It will take 30 years and US$14 billion to fully clean up contaminated radioactive materials from the Fukushima nuclear plant, Japan's Ministry of the Environment says.

In a detailed report, the ministry said it will start building concrete-walled pits for holding contaminated soil and other wastes from the Fukushima reactors. The facility is to be completed by March 2013, two years afte the earthquake and tsunami that crippled the plant.

"The focus will be on maintaining a centrally managed storage facility that will be safe and secure," the ministry said in a document outlining the plan.

The full-scale decontamination led by the ministry will begin Jan. 1, when a new cleanup law takes effect.

Residents of the Fukushima Prefecture will also be consulted in selecting waste disposal areas.

Companies including Sumitomo Corp and Obayashi Inc are competing for contracts to build the facilities.

In a report earlier published by Bloomberg News, the government said it will also begin working to acquire land where contaminated wastes can be held for three years before permanent storage at the designated site.

Nearby areas 100 to 200 meters from the Fukushima plant have been declared dead zones and uninhabitable for at least 20 years.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's administrator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, has been approved to receive 900 billion yen from the government to compensate residents affected by the nuclear disaster.

The grant to Tepco is part of the 1.01 trillion yen it sought from the government under a newly enacted nuclear damage compensation law.