President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a conference call on the construction of local roads in the country. The meeting was attended by First Deputy Head of the President’s Office Serhiy Trofimov, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budget Yuriy Aristov, Chairman of the State Agency of Automobile Roads Oleksandr Kubrakov, RSA Heads, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Kateryna Rozhkova and representatives of Ukrainian banks.
The participants of the meeting reported to the Head of State that from the beginning of the year, the regions used on average 30% of fund allocations for the renovation of local roads.
However, in some regions this figure does not exceed 5-10%. Representatives of these regions explained that the most common reason for the low level of money usage is the unpreparedness of the design and estimate documentation for the repair objects planned in 2020.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for speeding up the implementation of projects, for which the state has already allocated money. The President also called on all regions to submit programs for the renovation of all their local roads. The programs must contain a clear schedule and information on the amount of money needed to implement the projects.
"We want to increase the number of repaired roads every year in order to completely upgrade Ukraine's road network as soon as possible," the President said.
In addition, the President said that for the repair and construction of roads of local importance, regional state administrations will be able to attract additional funding under local guarantees.
The mechanism for raising these funds was developed in a joint project of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Government and Ukravtodor. The Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has already registered the bills needed to attract additional funding for the renovation of local roads.
"Today, it is extremely important to make the loan rate lower and fixed, because no one is interested in getting loans if there is a high floating rate," the President of Ukraine emphasized.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that close cooperation between the Government, Parliament, the National Bank and local authorities will help effectively renovate the roads.
"As President, I initiated the Great Construction program and I will do everything possible for Ukrainians to drive on high-quality roads," he concluded.