The program of the President "Great Construction" will start in less than three weeks - on March 1. The Government has forged all the necessary mechanisms for the start of construction, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said during the “Knit Ukraine Together: Security, Construction, Financing” event at the State Road Agency of Ukraine (Ukravtodor). 

"Now the heads of Regional State Administrations bear all responsibility for the timely start of construction. For example, there are still three regions that have not agreed on any plans for the 2020 Road and Building List with the Ukravtodor. These regions are Zakarpattya, Lviv and Sumy. "Great Construction" project is not about asphalt or concrete. It's about a new quality of life for Ukrainians! There is no time for "sluggish start" - we have to work quickly, efficiently and in a coordinated way," Oleksiy Honcharuk said.

The PM added that this year the Government together with Ukravtodor plans to build or repair at least 4000 km of roads. For this, in 2020 the Government allocated an unprecedented amount of money in the history of Ukraine – a record sum worth UAH 85 billion.

"In 5 years, we have to bring to good condition a significant part of the major roads of national importance. How to do it - we already know, we have funding, and support at the central level. Therefore, if someone does a poor job, then we will make personnel decisions," the Prime Minister emphasized.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that a drastically new approach to road construction will be used this year.

"For many years, there has been a so-called successful startup in our country due to which some officials have built numerous real estate objects. This startup is called pothole repair. It should sink into oblivion. We are talking about road construction and overhaul. They should form at least 80% of the total amount of work," the Head of State emphasized.

According to the Chairman of Ukravtodor, the agency is now working to significantly simplify all bureaucratical procedures regarding pricing. "We engage international quality assessment experts and coordinate policies with the Antimonopoly Committee. We have no right to lose this year due to certain procedural peculiarities", Olexandr Kubrakov stressed.

 Special attention was paid to road protection during the meeting.

"In 2020, we plan to unlock the potential of river transportation and enhance the weight-size control on highways. A reliable safeguard against the destruction of road infrastructure by overloaded vehicles will be innovative weighing complexes", the Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Kryklii noted.

The Minister added that 25 weigh-in-motion (WiM) complexes will be installed on roads of national significance. Moreover, the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety will be retrofitted. The issues at stake are staff changes of inspectors, video recording of their actions, and engaging regional and public representatives.