President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a telephone conversation with Acting President of the EBRD Jürgen Rigterink.
The interlocutors discussed the preparation for the implementation of a new joint project between Ukraine and the EBRD, as well as assessed the implementation of ongoing projects.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the positive results of bilateral cooperation, in particular the signing of a loan agreement between JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya, the Ministry of Finance and the EBRD for 52 million euros.
Speaking about the National Program "Great Construction", the President of Ukraine stressed the priority of the project "Development of the Trans-European Transport Network" totaling 900 million euros (450 million euros - funds from the European Investment Bank, 450 million euros - funds from the EBRD).
Preparations for this project are currently at the final stage. Consultants of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development conduct a road safety audit, as well as an assessment of climatic, environmental and social factors of the implementation of the project. As part of the "Development of the Trans-European Transport Network", the major overhaul of the M-05 Kyiv-Odesa highway with a total length of 300 km and the construction of the Northern Bypass (Lviv, the Lviv region) are planned. The loan agreement with the EBRD is planned to be signed in late 2020 - early 2021.
During the telephone conversation, the parties also agreed to prepare a Memorandum between Ukraine and the EBRD on the implementation of a number of anti-corruption measures in state-owned companies fulfilling joint projects with the bank.
In particular, the State Agency of Automobile Roads of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) will be the first authority to develop and implement a comprehensive program aimed at improving the quality and transparency of project management. Negotiations on the launch of this pilot project have been ongoing since April 2020.