Ukraine’s state budget has received about $950 million from Japan as part of World Bank projects for recovery and social protection, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday.
“The financing consists of a $52.4 million grant from Japan under the Housing Opportunities for People’s Empowerment (HOPE) project and a $900 million loan from the Japanese government through the Investing in Social Protection for Improved Reach, Resilience, and Efficiency (INSPIRE) project,” the release said.
According to the release, the funds will be used to reimburse the state budget of Ukraine for urgent and priority needs, in particular in the field of recovery and social assistance.
The INSPIRE project is funded by a $1.2 billion loan from the World Bank’s Trust Fund for the Provision of Necessary Credit Support to Ukraine (ADVANCE Ukraine), with support from the Government of Japan, and aims to provide social protection to vulnerable populations during and after the war, improve access to social assistance and social services, and strengthen the adaptability of the social support system to effectively respond to current and future challenges.
The HOPE project aims to restore infrastructure in the combat-affected areas, de-occupied and affected regions of Ukraine. Funds will also be provided to homeowners for repairs in multi-family and private homes that have sustained moderate damage and do not require major repairs. The project will support policy reforms at the national level to improve recovery outcomes and alignment with Ukraine’s European integration goals.
On December 19, Finance Minister Sergiy Marchenko said that since the beginning of this year, Ukraine has managed to attract more than $39 billion in external financing, compared to $32.1 billion for the entire last year, and by the end of the year this amount will reach about $42.3 billion.
In particular, on December 20, Ukraine received a grant of EUR 150 million from the EU, and on Thursday – EUR 1.5 billion of the last tranche of the EU’s macro-financial assistance this year.
