Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction will create a massive market for the construction sector, industry, and related sectors; however, Ukrainian companies need to start preparing now to compete with international contractors, according to Andriy Ozeychuk, director of Rauta and chairman of the board of directors of the Ukrainian Steel Construction Center Association.
In his column for The Page, he noted that once the war ends, demand for construction will be significant from the general public, the government, and the business sector alike. According to estimates by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are about 8 million Ukrainians abroad who fled during the full-scale invasion, and the UN forecasts the return of 3–3.5 million people once lasting peace and security guarantees are in place.
According to the expert, a significant portion of those who return, as well as internally displaced persons, will need new housing or the restoration of damaged homes. At the same time, reconstruction will not be limited to the housing stock. According to estimates by the Kyiv School of Economics, residential buildings account for only about one-third of the direct losses from the war, while significant losses were also sustained by transportation and energy infrastructure, corporate assets, industry, and the agri-industrial complex.
Ozeychuk notes that, according to World Bank estimates, Ukraine’s reconstruction will require more than EUR500 billion over the next decade. This is nearly three times Ukraine’s GDP in 2025 and creates significant opportunities not only for the construction sector but also for the entire economy.
In his estimation, every hryvnia invested in construction has a multiplier effect and stimulates 1.5 to 3 times greater growth in related sectors. Examples include the postwar reconstruction of Germany and South Korea, where the construction sector became one of the catalysts for economic growth.
The expert identifies the main sources of funding for large-scale projects as direct financial assistance from international partners—including the G7, the EU, and the U.S.—the attraction of large private investments backed by state guarantees, as well as reparations and confiscated frozen assets of the Russian Federation. Ukraine’s European integration should serve as an additional incentive, as it will eventually open access to specialized EU development funds.
At the same time, Ukrainian construction companies may already face stiff competition from European players. According to Ozeychuk, the most realistic scenario would be a consortium model in which a European general contractor would work alongside Ukrainian subcontractors and use local materials certified to European EN standards.
Under this scenario, foreign companies could be involved in high-tech work, while Ukrainian businesses would handle local logistics, specialized work, and the construction of utility networks, roads, and capital construction projects.
The expert identifies financing conditions as the main barrier for Ukrainian companies. While in Ukraine construction is often carried out using substantial advance payments, the EU commonly uses a post-audit payment model—based on the completion of specific project phases. This requires significant working capital, whereas Ukrainian companies have limited access to low-cost long-term loans.
To level the playing field, Ozeychuk believes the government should launch programs for affordable long-term loans backed by state guarantees, provide preferential financing for the modernization of Ukrainian building materials plants, simplify the adoption of EN standards, and advocate for Ukrainian businesses’ participation in international grant programs.
A separate challenge will be the construction industry’s transition to European design standards. By 2028, the Ukrainian system is expected to fully integrate into the European space and adopt Eurocodes. This will remove some barriers for foreign engineers but will also require Ukrainian specialists to rapidly upgrade their qualifications.
Among the technological trends in reconstruction, the expert cites BIM modeling, digital twins of buildings, energy-efficient solutions, and the concept of net-zero energy buildings. In his assessment, the market will shift toward rapid modular construction, eco-friendly materials, and innovative solutions.
Another key constraint will be a labor shortage. According to Ozeychuk, demobilized military personnel and men returning from abroad will only partially offset the labor shortage. High demand could lead to rising wages in construction, particularly for blue-collar jobs, and could also encourage the retraining of specialists from other sectors, as well as the more active involvement of women, veterans, and older workers.
In addition, Ukrainian companies are already beginning to collaborate with agencies that specialize in the official recruitment of construction workers from South Asian countries, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Ozeychuk believes that the two main principles of the future reconstruction are speed of implementation and the “Build Back Better” approach—that is, rebuilding to a higher standard than before the destruction. It is precisely these criteria that will determine the demand for modern materials, technologies, and production capacity in Ukraine.
Rauta is a Ukrainian company operating in the field of prefabricated buildings, facade and roofing systems, sandwich panels, and steel construction. The “Ukrainian Center for Steel Construction” Association brings together companies working in the segments of metal structures, building materials, design, and industrial construction.
CONSTRUCTION, Eurocode, INVESTMENT, OZEYCHUK, RAUTA, RECONSTRUCTION
PJSC “Ukrnafta,” a member of the “Naftogaz” Group, signed a grant agreement at URC 2026 in Gdańsk (Poland) with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for 44.6 million euros to build 62 MW of distributed generation, according to Serhiy Koretskyi, chairman of the board of NAK “Naftogaz of Ukraine.”
“These funds will help accelerate the implementation of distributed generation projects to support the power grid amid Russian attacks on the energy sector. The €44.6 million grant will supplement the previously secured €80 million loan from the EBRD and allow us to carry out the planned work more quickly,” Koretsky wrote on Facebook on Friday.
He specified that the total capacity of the new generation facilities is 62 MW.
“This, in turn, will strengthen the power grid amid a shortage of generating capacity caused by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. “I thank the EBRD leadership for their support and trust,” the Naftogaz CEO explained.
He also reported that at URC 2026, Naftogaz and the EBRD signed a memorandum on expanding cooperation in the areas of energy security, infrastructure restoration, and modernization.
According to him, during a meeting between Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso, specific terms of cooperation were discussed in detail, including securing financial mechanisms for the purchase of imported gas for the upcoming heating season.
As previously reported, Naftogaz signed an agreement with the U.S. EXIM Bank during URC 2026 in Gdańsk, which provides for the possibility of securing up to $300 million to purchase American equipment for the purpose of restoring the oil and gas infrastructure destroyed by Russia.
As Koretsky explained, the next step is practical work with U.S. companies to implement a financial mechanism that will allow for direct lending to U.S. suppliers and contractors for the purchase of equipment by companies within the Naftogaz Group.
At URC 2026, the Naftogaz of Ukraine Group also reached an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on cooperation to attract private investment to Ukraine.
In addition, agreements were signed with the Polish company ORLEN regarding the development of LNG supplies to Ukraine and the exchange of expertise in the areas of sustainable development, decarbonization, and ESG.
JSC “Ukrnafta”—Ukraine’s largest oil producer—operates the country’s largest national network of gas stations, UKRNAFTA. In 2024, the company came under the management of Glusco. In 2025, it finalized a deal with Shell Overseas Investments BV to acquire the Shell network in Ukraine. In total, it operates nearly 700 gas stations.
The company is implementing a comprehensive program to restore operations and modernize the format of the gas stations in its network. Since February 2023, it has been issuing its own fuel vouchers and “NAFTACard” cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
The largest shareholder of “Ukrnafta” is NJSC “Naftogaz of Ukraine,” with a 50% + 1 share stake.
In November 2022, the Council of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine adopted a decision to transfer to the state the portion of the company’s corporate rights that belonged to private owners; the company is now managed by the Ministry of Defense.
The engineering and construction company Rauta has published a guide titled “Fastening Cantilevered Structures to Sandwich Panels,” intended for designers and specialists working with building envelopes.
According to the company’s website, the guide will be useful when calculating loads on Ruukki sandwich panel cladding caused by suspended elements. The guide contains recommendations on the level of utilization of the panels’ load-bearing capacity, requirements for calculating fasteners for suspended elements, as well as specifics for determining loads from vertically installed U- and Ω-profiles or cantilever supports for cable ladders.
The document also specifically addresses point loads from through-fasteners. This is important for industrial, warehouse, logistics, and commercial facilities where engineering components, cable trays, additional structures, cladding, or auxiliary equipment may be attached to facades or wall panels.
For the construction market, these guidelines are of practical importance, as sandwich panels are widely used in prefabricated buildings, industrial facilities, cold storage warehouses, agricultural infrastructure, and retail and logistics complexes. Errors in the design of fasteners can lead to improper load distribution, damage to the cladding, compromised airtightness, or reduced durability of the building envelope.
Rauta operates in the engineering and construction solutions sector and offers building design, the supply of frames, sandwich panels, ventilated facades, and prefabricated buildings, as well as structural installation, general contracting, client services, building commissioning, and maintenance.
The company positions itself as a provider of reliable construction solutions in Ukraine and European Union countries. Rauta uses certified European-manufactured products and is the exclusive supplier in Ukraine of commercial products from the Finnish Ruukki Group.
One of Rauta’s key areas of activity is Ruukki sandwich panels. According to the company, these panels are manufactured using Finnish technologies at Ruukki’s European plants and comply with the European standard EN 14509. The supply of panels is accompanied by consultations on selection, the design of building envelopes, technical solutions, components, panel layout on facades and roofs, as well as calculations of the structures’ load-bearing capacity.
Rauta also develops its own engineering solutions. These include a patented frameless building design using sandwich panels, a construction technology for multi-story buildings that uses sandwich panels as walls, solutions to improve building airtightness, and technologies for renovating structures using energy-efficient sandwich panels.
In 2024, the company received a patent from the Ukrainian National Office of Intellectual Property and Innovation for a technical solution for a frameless building made of sandwich panels. According to Rauta, this technology can be applied to single-family homes, cottage communities, cold storage rooms, refrigerated warehouses, and other single-story residential or commercial buildings.
In addition, Rauta is a member of relevant business and industry associations. The company is part of the Ukrainian Center for Steel Construction, the Finnish Business Group, the Finnish-Ukrainian association UkraineOffice, and the German-Ukrainian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Ukraine).
The release of the new guidelines indicates that the company is focusing not only on the supply of materials but also on providing engineering support for projects. For clients, this can reduce risks during the design and operation phases of buildings, and for the market, it can raise standards for working with sandwich panels and cantilevered structures.
According to The Serbian Economist, a contract has been signed in neighboring Romania for the design and construction of a pedestrian suspension bridge across the Rebra River valley near the commune of Parva in Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania.
The future bridge will be approximately 620 m long. It will span the Rebra Valley and connect two mountain slopes near the entrance to the Rodna Mountains National Park. According to Romanian media reports, the bridge will be 200–300 m above the valley.
The project could become one of the highest pedestrian suspension bridges in Europe and one of Romania’s new tourist attractions.
The project is funded, in part, by European funds under the Nord-Vest 2021–2027 regional program.
In addition to the bridge itself, the project includes the development of tourism infrastructure, specifically access to the site and landscaping of the surrounding area. In particular, Romanian publications mention the reconstruction of Dealul Tisei Street.
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The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine is developing a project for the construction of an ice arena in Kyiv on the grounds of the Ivan Poddubny Olympic Professional College—a separate structural unit of the National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine.
“Equipment salvaged from Kherson, which was previously purchased with 70 million hryvnias from the state budget, has already been transferred for the future arena. It has been preserved, is in working condition, and can be used once the necessary infrastructure is in place. The next step should be the construction of a frame-type arena. The relevant project has already been developed and is currently undergoing expert review, which is scheduled to be completed by August 1 of this year,” the ministry stated in a report following a visit to the college by representatives of the Ministry of Sports and the State Agency “Ukrsportobezpechennia.”
It is noted that the launch of the ice arena will allow the college to open two new winter sports departments—short track and figure skating.
“This approach will improve the training of winter sports athletes, taking into account, in particular, the lessons learned from the current Winter Olympic Games,” the ministry noted.
The ministry notes that this is not just about a single facility, but about introducing a more systematic approach to restoring sports infrastructure in Ukraine.
In particular, a mechanism for attracting additional funding through the Sports Recovery Foundation is being developed for this purpose.
Prices for construction and installation work (CIW) in Ukraine rose by 19.9% in April 2026 compared to April 2025, according to the State Statistics Service (SSS).
According to the statistics agency, prices rose in all segments of construction from April 2025 to April 2026: in residential construction by 16.7% (up 2.1% from the previous month), in non-residential construction by 20.8% (2.9%), and in civil engineering by 20.5% (3.5%).
From January to April of this year compared to the same period last year, construction material prices rose by 12.4%, specifically in the residential sector by 11.1%, in the non-residential sector by 13%, and in civil engineering by 12.4%.
As reported, in 2025, construction material prices rose by 5.8% compared to the previous year, in 2024 by 7.9%, and in 2023 by 15.8%.
CONSTRUCTION, CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, PRICES, State Statistics Service, UKRAINE
