The RDS Group of road construction companies will repair a section of M-14 road in Kherson region, which will be the ninth region of Ukraine in which the company carries out works, the co-founder of RDS, Yevhen Konovalov, told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Our production will be based in Nova Kakhovka. The south, Kherson region are strategically important for the development of both passenger flow and trade infrastructure of our country,” he said.
According to Konovalov, the group plans to join projects in other regions of the country within the president’s Big Construction program by the end of this year.
According to the ProZorro system, Rostdorstroy LLC, which is a part of the RDS Group, won two lots in the tender for medium repairs of M-14 Odesa-Melitopol-Novoazovsk road in Kherson region worth UAH 22.998 million and UAH 46.98 million (PJSC Khmelnytsky Road Construction Department No. 56 won two other lots).
In addition, Rostdorstroy has passed prequalification along with Khmelnytsky Road Construction Department No. 56 and Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC in several more tenders for medium repairs of this road in Kherson region.
In 2020, the State Agency of Automobile Roads of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) plans to repair 177.5 kilometers of national roads in Kherson region for UAH 2.1 billion, including 36.1 kilometers of M-14 Odesa-Melitopol-Novoazovsk road.
RDS Group is included in the top three road construction companies of Ukraine. It includes Kyivshliakhbud and Rostdorstroy. The core business is construction, reconstruction and maintenance of roads and bridges, construction of airfield complexes.
The ultimate beneficial owners of RDS Group are Ukrainian citizens Yuriy Shumakher and Yevhen Konovalov.
As of Tuesday, June 23, road construction is carried out on 3,000 kilometers of Ukrainian roads, namely, some 224 objects in 23 regions of Ukraine.
The State Automobile Roads Agency of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) said on its Telegram channel on Tuesday that more than 500 kilometers of roads are currently being commissioned.
Ukravtodor said that in 2020, under the Big Construction project, it is planned to repair 4,200 kilometers of public roads. The total budget is UAH 90.2 billion.
“Currently, construction works are being carried out on 2,816 kilometers of roads through financing from the Road Fund, the national budget and loans. Construction works on 189 kilometers are being continued at the expense of international financial institutions. In addition, tender procedures have been announced for repairing 1,413 kilometers of roads, we are awaiting the conclusion of the main number of contracts in the coming weeks,” the agency said.
The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the State Automobile Roads Agency of Ukraine (Ukravtodor), the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications and Informatization (NCCIR) and Ukrainian Internet associations signed a memorandum of cooperation in the development of broadband Internet access on roads.
As reported on the website of the Ministry of Infrastructure on Friday, with the memorandum, all of its parties will cooperate in the implementation of smart transport systems and their arrangement on public roads of national importance.
In particular, Ukravtodor, when conducting procurement for the overhaul of these roads, will include provisions for the development of broadband Internet access in the customer’s requirements, as well as the infrastructure necessary for the cable telecommunication lines.
“We want that during the overhaul of these roads, one of the requirements for the customer is the development of the required infrastructure for the cable telecommunication lines, so that there is broadband access to the Internet. This will allow the introduction of smart transport systems, which are very important to increase transport safety and prevent possible accidents, traffic monitoring and efficient management of traffic flows,” the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure said, citing minister Vladyslav Krykliy.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has supported amendments to the Government Program for Improving Road Safety in Ukraine for the period until 2020, thanks to which 25 Weigh-in-Motion (WiM) scale systems will be installed and 50 portable truck weighing scales will be upgraded. According to the press service of the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine with reference to Minister Vladyslav Krykliy, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted the corresponding decision on Wednesday.
“Due to violation of the rules for the passage of oversized and heavy vehicles, roads are being destroyed. The government is spending on their repairs and the number of accidents on these roads is increasing. Today, out of the 78 portable truck weighing scales purchased in 2017, 50 require replacement of weighing elements. I am glad that the government supported the changes to the government program for improving road safety. Now, for effective overall weight control, 50 portable truck weighing scales will be updated, and 25 WiM complexes will be installed,” the press service said, citing the minister.
Accordingly, with the changes, the cost of installing modern WiM systems was increased by UAH 380.7 million, and the cost of the purchase of 50 portable truck weighing scales was increased by UAH 15 million.
In addition, it is envisaged to increase the number of tablets for employees of the National Police by 200 units (up to 1,200), to purchase 30 mobile diagnostic stations for checking the technical condition of vehicles and 30 road laboratories for checking the condition of the road network. It is also planned to purchase another 10 rescue vehicles for the State Emergency Service in order to reduce the time of arrival of the service to the accident site to 7-10 minutes.
JSC Ukreximbank and the State Agency of Automobile Roads of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) with the participation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky have signed an agreement to provide the first tranche for updating roads in Ukraine in the amount of UAH 5.782 billion from the amount of financing, which will total UAH 19.3 billion.
“Despite the quarantine measures in our country, the most important thing is that the state works and, together with the banking sector and construction companies, builds kilometers of roads and “sews” our country! As I said, roads, bridges are a priority,” Zelensky said after the signing of the agreement.
He emphasized that the Big Construction program is the image of Ukraine as a country with modern and high-quality roads on which you can travel. The president also noted that the program will contribute to the creation of new jobs.
The president’s press service notes that the attraction of funds from Ukreximbank under state guarantees by Ukravtodor became possible due to the adoption of laws on amendments to the budget that Zelensky signed on February 4, 2020, and thanks to the decision of the National Bank to lower the refinancing rate. The loan interest rate will be 10.5% per annum.
“We, as a state bank, support the Big Construction project. With the signing of the agreement, Ukravtodor will receive the first tranche in the amount of UAH 5.782 billion at a rate of 10.5% per annum, which is 2% lower than the Cabinet of Ministers foresaw,” chairman of the board of Ukreximbank Yevhen Metsger said.
He said that Ukreximbank is ready to become a financial partner of the Big Construction project and lend its shoulder to all companies, in particular contractors, that will be involved in the construction of the facilities under this program.
AGREEMENT, ROADS, TRANCHE, UKRAVTODOR, UKREXIMBANK, UPDATING
Austria’s Holso GmbH has proposed to build roads from clay in Zakarpattia and the first experimental kilometer of the clay road will be built between the settlements of Danylove and Oleksandrivka (Khust district) in October 2019.
As reported on the website of the Zakarpattia Regional Administration, such an agreement was reached by the head of the Regional Administration Ihor Bondarenko and representatives of Holso GmbH during the meeting.
According to the representatives of the Austrian company, the warranty service life of clay roads is 10 years. Its cost is five to six times less than asphalt roads. Currently, 50 countries are already using this technology.
“I see no obstacles not to use this unique technology in Zakarpattia. If it proves effective, it will speed up the construction of roads in the region several times. Our region will be an example for the entire country in this issue. I think this idea is very useful, because it combines a reasonable price and high quality. I can assure you: you will have the full support of the regional administration in the implementation of this project,” the press service said, citing Bondarenko.
In addition, Mykhailo Popovich, the head of the Automobile Road Service in Zakarpattia region, who was present at the meeting, said that the technology had already been tested at an expert institute. According to him, it is possible to build roads in this way in any weather, and the clay road can also be used as a basis for asphalt concrete.
“In our region, the use of this technology can significantly accelerate the construction of roads, especially rural and forest roads,” he added.
