eUR 100 million for hromadas: a new phase of the Recovery Program for Ukraine begins
10 January 09:42
The Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine is launching the third phase of the Ukraine Recovery Program, which is being implemented with the support of the European Investment Bank. The launch of the program was announced at a briefing by Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Ryabykin, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
According to the official, 100 million euros have been allocated for this stage, which will be used to restore critical infrastructure and develop communities.
“For the first time in the history of Ukraine, a program is being launched where projects will be implemented to implement community strategies, regional development strategies, and the state regional development strategy. This program is a new level of planning and development, when resources are directed to the implementation of community and regional development strategies,” emphasized Oleksiy Ryabikin.
It is reported that the projects will be implemented using the innovative DREAM platform, which allows automating the project selection and monitoring processes. The platform will ensure transparency and efficiency in financial management and will allow to quickly assess the progress of projects, monitor the use of funds and their targeted use.
As part of the Program implementation, an integrity group will be formed, which will include specialists with relevant reputation and experience. Its main task will be to assess projects for compliance with the cost, implementation time, and other reputational risks.
Projects will be selected in several areas.
Energy sustainability of communities.
Particular attention is paid to the diversification of heat supply and the development of distributed generation to ensure energy efficiency.
Housing construction.
The program will create a housing stock in communal ownership to accommodate internally displaced persons, community workers and other categories of citizens in need of housing.
Modernization of water supply and sewage infrastructure.
Given the technical deterioration of the networks, projects will be implemented in the communities to upgrade them.
Reconstruction of medical facilities.
Particular attention will be paid to cluster hospitals and perinatal centers.
Conditions for projects to participate in the selection:
– the facility must be fully owned by the municipality,
– co-financing with the involvement of local budget funds is required, part of which must be at least 23%,
– availability of up-to-date design and estimate documentation (except for certain types of projects),
– project implementation period – 18 months, for projects related to distributed generation facilities – until October 1, 2025,
– the community is obliged to ensure the further maintenance of the facility for at least 20 years from the date of completion of the project.
Applications can be submitted by local governments, executive bodies of village, town and city councils. Projects cannot be implemented in the temporarily occupied territories or in areas of active hostilities.
Priority will be given to projects with ready-made project documentation developed in accordance with current standards and regulations, as well as those that meet the interests of the community, including the needs of vulnerable groups.
How the Ukraine Recovery Program works
This program is part of the public investment reform and is aimed at restoring critical infrastructure and improving the quality of life in war-affected communities.
In June 2024, Ukraine and the EIB signed a financing agreement that provides for the attraction of EUR 100 million. These funds will be used to restore social infrastructure, housing and communal facilities and provide municipal housing in the regions affected by the military aggression of the Russian Federation, as well as in those regions that have received a significant number of internally displaced persons. The subvention will be provided to communities through the state budget to local budgets.
Within the previous two phases of the program, 225 projects worth more than 500 million euros have already been implemented. This year, several more important facilities are expected to be commissioned that have received funding earlier.
What is known about the DREAM platform
It is a state digital ecosystem for restoration management. It fully covers the entire cycle of public investment management from project initiation and preparation of design and estimate documentation to allocation of funding and its implementation.
Today, 1260 communities and 23 regional administrations are already working in DREAM. They automatically receive information that a new source of funding has appeared and understand what projects they can submit for this funding. The main thing, as Viktor Nestulia, head of the DREAM Project Office, emphasized, is that an application can be formed in a few clicks and submitted to the regional administration and the Ministry.
