Prime Minister discussed the possibility of large-scale road construction in Ukraine with representatives of Ministries and institutions

On Wednesday, April 20, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman held a meeting on the financial support for reconstruction, repair and maintenance of roads in 2016.

The meeting was attended by Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Kistion, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine Hennadii Zubko, Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelian, Deputy Finance Minister of Ukraine Roman Kachur , Chairman of the State Road Agency of Ukraine Andrii Batyschev, First Deputy Chairman Evhenii Barakh and Deputy Chairman Mykola Berezovsky.

Representatives of the specialized institutions noted that as of today 97% of roads in Ukraine need capital and current repairs, construction of many roads in the country is under way. This was caused by a number of reasons, including chronic underfunding, a significant reduction in human resources, reducing the number of major contractors as well as the poor administration of road transport.

"The state of Ukrainian roads does not stand up to criticism. The issue of their exploitation is extremely sensitive. In fact, the road sector in the country is in a critical condition," said Volodymyr Groysman.

In this regard, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the State Road Agency have to ensure implementation of large-scale works on all territory of Ukraine, the Prime Minister noted.

The meeting discussed possible sources of financial support for road construction. These funds should be directed to the full-scale construction of roads in Ukraine, which should begin in June, noted Volodymyr Groysman.

"Our task is to organize and plan under the allocated funds and deploy as full-scale and efficient work on road construction as possible," emphasized the Prime Minister, noting that resources must be used in two ways: the construction of new roads and the implementation of capital and current repairs.

In this regard, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine to provide funding for current repairs and construction of roads and highways and the State Road Agency of Ukraine - to carry out preparatory work. In particular, it is necessary to conduct tenders, organize contractors, analyze available resources, determine priorities, said Volodymyr Groysman. It is also essential to find an optimal technological approach to the construction of each road, provide a cheap cost and high quality of work of each type of repair, he emphasized, while ensuring quality control of construction and repair of roads.

The Prime Minister noted that it was necessary to provide the possibility of co-financing of works on local roads together with the local authorities.

The meeting also raised the issue of maintenance of Ukrainian roads in the winter. In this context, the Prime Minister instructed the interlocutors to make proposals for the purchase of snow removal equipment and materials for sprinkling roads in the winter.