Toll roads may appear in Ukraine: details
5 December 2024 17:38
ANALYSIS FROM 
Ukraine is going to launch toll roads. During a meeting with representatives of the European Business Association, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development Serhiy Derkach noted that the introduction of toll roads is one of the requirements of the European Union.
“We already have a draft law on this issue ready and are now actively working on its implementation… In order to build a high-quality road, we need to analyze the traffic intensity, which is currently being carried out on six roads. At the same time, we are negotiating with investors, in particular, we have agreements with the European Investment Bank,” he said.
Derkach added that the final decision on the launch of toll roads will be made after a full analysis of traffic on these routes is completed, but he did not specify which roads are included in this study.
MP Volodymyr Kreidenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, told Kyiv 24 TV channel that the introduction of toll roads in Ukraine is possible in five years, provided that the necessary legislative initiatives are prepared today. According to Kreidenko, roads in Dnipropetrovs’k, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa and Poltava regions are currently being analyzed. For such a road to be profitable, its traffic volume must be at least 18,000 cars per day. This process is being carried out in cooperation with European consultants and local authorities.
“We have to develop the necessary legislation. If European investors want to build toll roads, they can finance it at their own expense, offering citizens an alternative – new highways with high quality. And people themselves will choose which roads to use: those that exist now or new toll roads built with European funds,” said the MP.
Volodymyr Kreidenko also added that the construction of one kilometer of a new road in Ukraine currently costs at least UAH 20 million.
There are no funds for new roads in the budget for 2025
In an exclusive interview with "Komersant Ukrainian", Ukrainian MP Oksana Savchuk shared her thoughts on the prospects for introducing toll roads in Ukraine and the state of road infrastructure during the war. According to her, before the active invasion, the government had planned to start a partnership with private companies to create toll roads of national importance. However, the current situation has changed these plans.
“It was planned that part of the funds would go to the state budget, and part would be used for road repairs. However, the war complicates all infrastructure initiatives. No one can say for sure when exactly toll roads will appear in Ukraine,” the MP noted.
According to her, the budget for 2025 does not include funds for the road fund, and next year efforts will be directed to patching critical roads in the East and South, which are needed by the military for evacuation and rapid movement along the front line.
“Now we are only talking about finding funds for these urgent repairs, not about large infrastructure projects,” emphasized Savchuk.
However, in the future, after the victory, she believes that infrastructure projects, including the construction of toll roads, can be implemented quickly.
Tolls for using toll roads: what will they be like?
Oksana Savchuk also commented on the initiative of some infrastructure experts to introduce toll roads specifically for trucks. Some experts propose to make existing roads tolls only for large vehicles, as their load negatively affects the condition of the roads.
“I do not support this idea. This issue requires a comprehensive approach. We have mechanisms to control carriers, and if they violate the rules, they should be fined accordingly. The creation of toll roads for trucks may be ineffective if weight control services do not work,” the MP added.
Regarding the tolling mechanism, Oksana Savchuk believes that Ukraine can adopt the experience of European countries.
“Both cash and non-cash payments can be envisaged. Given the digitalization of the state, cashless payments will be more relevant,” she said.
In general, Savchuk emphasized that in times of war, it is important not only to create new toll roads, but also to ensure the proper condition of the existing infrastructure, which is critical to meeting military needs.
“The war has changed our plans, and now we have to focus on restoring critical infrastructure,” summarized the MP.
Thus, the introduction of toll roads in Ukraine is an important step towards modernizing the road infrastructure to meet the requirements of the European Union. However, there are a number of challenges to implementing this initiative, including the need to conduct a detailed traffic analysis on specific routes and to create appropriate legislation. An important part of this process is cooperation with European investors who are supposed to finance the construction of new roads. However, due to the situation with the war, certain aspects of the toll roads are postponed, and attention is now focused on restoring critical infrastructure, which is especially important to meet the needs of the army.
Author – Daryna Glushchenko
