The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to provide NEC Ukrenergo with a state-guaranteed loan of up to EUR90 million for the reconstruction of selected substations in the country.
“It is expected that the loan, if possible, will be co-financed by investment grants from international donors totaling up to EUR60 million for the purchase of reserve stocks of electrical equipment and equipment for inter-system connections,” the bank said in a statement on its website.
The project is currently awaiting approval by the bank’s board.
As explained by the EBRD, the goal of the project, with a total cost of EUR 150 million (EUR 90 million + EUR 60 million), is to increase the resilience of the power transmission system in the face of constant attacks to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the population and businesses throughout the country.
In particular, the current loan will be used to reconstruct three existing substations and complete the construction of one new substation in Ukraine, which was started as part of a project financed by the bank in 2014.
The reconstruction of the three existing substations and the completion of the new substation will be carried out in accordance with international best practice, using equipment that meets EU requirements. Some of the damaged or destroyed equipment will be replaced.
Currently, the new substation with 330 kV overhead power lines is being built at the stage of already laid foundations using EBRD loan funds saved as part of the project to build the 750 kV Zaporizhzhya NPP – Kakhovka power line.
As the EBRD recalled, since February 2022, the bank has provided Ukrenergo with three loans as part of its ongoing support, including emergency capital support and emergency investments aimed at restoring the power transmission network after serious damage caused by the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
According to the EBRD, Ukrenergo has provided the bank with satisfactory reporting on these loans, as well as generally satisfactory reporting in the past. It has the national capacity to implement the bank’s environmental and social requirements (ESR), as well as national and European legislation. The company is strengthening its ESG management system, including inclusive measures, to help it report on sustainability issues in the future in accordance with the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
As reported with reference to Maxim Khlapuk, a member of the Verkhovna Rada’s energy committee, as of June 2025, the total amount of credit funds under agreements between Ukrenergo and the EBRD, as well as the European Investment Bank (EIB), amounted to EUR1.22 billion, of which EUR 215.5 million remained unutilized, and with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) – $509.74 million, of which $54.87 million remained unutilized.
In addition, under two grant agreements between Ukraine and the IBRD for EUR 37.7 million and $200 million, EUR 18.9 million and $134.5 million remained unutilized, respectively.
EBRD, LOAN, POWER GRID, RECONSTRUCTION, SUBSTATION, UKRENERGO
Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery of Ukraine, Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksii Kuleba has agreed with Slovenian Finance Minister Klemen Boštjančič on a number of new projects to rebuild frontline regions.
“We have agreed on new projects in the areas of water supply, energy efficiency, and municipal infrastructure for frontline regions,” Kuleba wrote on Telegram on Saturday.
The deputy prime minister noted that they also discussed developing cooperation in rebuilding and supporting communities, attracting Slovenian businesses to Ukrainian projects, and strengthening technical cooperation between institutions in both countries.
The Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) plans to invest $10 million in the internal renovation of the Golf Club in Obolon, Kyiv, which it recently acquired for $18 million, so that the campus created on its premises meets the requirements of leading world universities, KSE President Timofey Milovanov said.
“About $10 million will go toward internal renovation, not external. Everything there needs to be demolished, and laboratories, amphitheaters, and makerspaces need to be built. … Filling the campus itself with high-quality, modern educational facilities, such as those found in top universities, will cost $10 million,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Milovanov, KSE sent a team to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to see what a makerspace is.
“This is where students have access to all modern robots, lasers, machine tools with software control — everything they need to make a prototype if they have an idea. All the equipment must be there, from projectors to lecture halls, and there must be access to software that costs money even for universities,” explained the KSE president.
He added that there are plans to open these makerspaces for students from other universities as well.
Milovanov recalled that the first KSE building in Kyiv, located at 3 Shpaka Street, cost $2.5 million, with another $2.5 million spent on renovations: shelter, sleeping capsules, library shelves, AI cameras that allow hybrid lectures, a security system, fire safety, modern ventilation, batteries, and generators in case of blackouts.
Some of this is already in place at the Golf Club, but it was designed for a small number of people, not the several thousand students who will be working here, added the KSE president. Among other things, he pointed to the building’s well-insulated basements, which can be used as shelters for all students and teachers.
He emphasized that he was very pleased with the purchase because the Golf Club was built to a very high standard, so the price of the deal was very attractive considering the location—$18 million for 14,500 square meters of space plus 5 hectares of land on lease.
“Even if you don’t count the land and the location near the Dnieper, that’s $1,200 per square meter! (…) But now there are no buyers. If people have $20 million, they will buy a hotel in Indonesia, not invest in Ukraine. I think this is simply a factor of the war, and we are very lucky—without the war, it would have been many times more expensive,” Milovanov believes.
According to him, in theory, the first students could use the renovated building as early as January next year, although in practice it may take longer, partly because of the existing tenants, with whom KSE would like to resolve the issue without any disputes.
“But there are two buildings at the Golf Club. One of them is empty—there are no tenants. So we are already starting demolition this week, and it may be ready sooner. That is where we will build makerspaces, amphitheaters, and other significant renovations,” said the KSE president.
He emphasized that the university will maintain the land’s sporting purpose, as stipulated in the lease agreement.
“We will do everything completely according to the law, so we will leave the golf course. Some good businessmen are already writing to us about how this can be improved. So maybe there is something in this direction,” Milovanov said.
At the same time, he said that in the future, KSE would like to expand the purpose of the land plot so that it fully corresponds to the university, so it will submit all the documents to the Kyiv City Council.
“I think it will take 5-7 years. But we have no other way, because we are an American company. Although local developers tell me: Timofey, why are you doing this? Do what you have to do, and you’ll figure it out later. But we don’t do that, we are an American company. We don’t know how to decide things like that,” he emphasized.
KSE is a private university and research center founded in 1996. It operates as a non-profit organization registered in the United States. Since 2022, KSE donors have contributed more than $150 million to humanitarian, defense, and educational projects, including the development of university infrastructure.
GOLF CLUB, INVESTMENT, KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, RECONSTRUCTION
The first stage of major repairs to a city polyclinic damaged during the Russian occupation of 2022 has been completed in Irpin, Kyiv region. The reconstruction was carried out with financial support from the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). The Azerbaijani Embassy in Ukraine also contributed to the restoration.
The first stage included major repairs and insulation of the facades and roof, replacement of windows, and renovation of the entrance areas. The SOCAR Blago Charitable Foundation allocated 60 million hryvnias for this work.
The second stage of the clinic’s restoration, also financed by SOCAR, involves the construction of a shelter, the installation of a fire alarm system, and ventilation. The overhaul of the clinic is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
Earlier it was reported that the city of Irpin had already been 80% restored after the destruction caused by hostilities in the spring of 2022.
Azerbaijani-Ukrainian diplomatic relations were officially established on February 6, 1992, after Azerbaijan recognized Ukraine’s independence. During Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022, the Azerbaijani embassy in Kyiv temporarily suspended its work, but resumed operations on April 30, 2022.
SOCAR (State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic) is Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil and gas company, founded in 1992. Its headquarters are located in Baku. SOCAR extracts oil and natural gas onshore and offshore in the Caspian Sea, operates the country’s only oil refinery and gas processing plant, and operates several export oil and gas pipelines.
SOCAR began operations in Ukraine in 2009. Today, the SOCAR network in Ukraine has more than 60 gas stations in various regions of the country, including Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro, and other cities.
https://interfax.com.ua/news/diplomats/1068732.html
A large-scale international technical assistance project, the Belgian Initiative for the Recovery of Ukraine (BE-Relieve Ukraine), implemented by the Belgian government through the development agency Enabel, has officially started in Ukraine, the press service of the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development reports.
“BE-Relieve Ukraine is not just about technical assistance. It is a project aimed at a partnership between Ukraine and Belgium in the reconstruction of our country. The main principle of our cooperation is “To rebuild better than before.” BE-Relieve Ukraine will last until the end of 2028. During this time, Ukraine will receive €150 million from the Belgian Government to restore and maintain critical infrastructure, prepare for winter, and create an inclusive environment,” said Kostyantyn Kovalchuk, Deputy Minister of Communities and Territories Development.
The main areas of the project are the modernization of energy infrastructure, reconstruction of medical facilities, renovation of school and vocational education infrastructure, as well as promoting reforms and strengthening ties with Belgian partners.
Priority activities include the transfer of 212 generators for educational institutions, mobile boilers for hospitals and utilities, and the repair of medical infrastructure.
According to the expert, about 100,000 tons of fireproof paints, plasters and other products may be needed to restore destroyed real estate.
Research by the Kyiv School of Economics and USAID shows that 90% of the construction materials needed to rebuild Ukraine can be produced locally. At the same time, the director of Kovlar Group, the largest Ukrainian manufacturer of fireproofing materials that produces Ammokote products, said that the total capacity of domestic fireproofing manufacturers far exceeds the expected demand during the reconstruction.
“As of today, fire protection materials worth about UAH 1 billion are needed to rebuild the destroyed facilities,” said Konstantin Kalafat, ”At the same time, the use of locally produced products will not only help develop Ukraine’s construction industry and create new jobs, but will also help investors save a lot of money, as Ukrainian products are much cheaper than imported counterparts.
Established in 2015, Kovlar Group is the largest Ukrainian manufacturer of fire protection products, which occupies about 60% of the Ukrainian fire protection materials market and offers more than 20 products under the Ammokote brand.
Established in 2015, Kovlar Group is the largest Ukrainian manufacturer of fire protection, which occupies about 60% of the Ukrainian fire protection materials market and offers more than 20 products under the Ammokote brand.
Kovlar Group LLC was founded in 2015, its authorized capital is UAH 1.2 million, and its ultimate beneficiaries are Kostiantyn Kalafat (40%), Andrii Ozeychuk (35%), and Liubov Vakhitova (25%). According to the company’s annual reports, in 2023, the company received UAH 42 million 585 thousand in revenue, which is more than four times higher than in 2022; net profit for 2023 was UAH 7.7 million against a net loss of UAH 1.6 million in 2022.
fire protection materials, Kovlar Group, RECONSTRUCTION, Калафат
