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The Ukrainian national road agency Ukravtodor and the American engineering group Bechtel have signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a bypass around the capital Kiev.
National media reported that Oleksandr Kubrakov, Minister of Infrastructure, made the announcement, citing the memorandum as part of the government’s major effort to invest in infrastructure. This project involves the construction of a 150 km bypass and the design plans are well advanced, including the acquisition of land.
Last December, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced a loan of 450 million euros to Ukravtodor. The EBRD noted that the money would help rehabilitate the M05 Kiev-Odessa road and build the Lviv bypass. Both are part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and are of strategic importance for Ukraine’s national and international connectivity, in particular with the European Union.
The bank’s financing is also accompanied by public procurement reform and the fight against corruption in the public sector and infrastructure. “The Ukrainian government is committed to improving Ukravtodor’s procurement system and strengthening its internal controls, policies and procedures to prevent bribery and corruption,†the EBRD said in a statement.
Ukravtodor launched the anti-corruption program with the EBRD earlier in 2020, as the total length of rehabilitated roads reached record levels.
EBRD funding for Ukravtodor consists of three tranches. Tranches I and III for a total amount of 290 million euros support the rehabilitation of 275 km of the M05 Kiev-Odessa road, connecting the capital Kiev and the Black Sea ports. The motorway is part of the TEN-T IX corridor, an essential road link connecting northern and southern Europe.
At the same time, tranche II of 160 million euros is financing the construction of a 24 km northern section of the ring road around Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine. The city is crossed by four international highways, two of which are part of the TEN-T III (Brussels-Kiev) and V (Venice-Kiev) corridors.
In addition, EBRD funds help introduce systems to manage the impact of overweight vehicles.
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