At a meeting on Friday, the government approved a procedure for providing compensation for the cost of engineering and transport infrastructure built by an applicant/investor with significant investments and the costs of connection and connection to engineering and transport networks necessary for project implementation.
“…approved the last regulatory document necessary to launch the mechanism of state support for projects with significant investments. Investors who are ready to implement projects in Ukraine worth EUR 12 million or more will receive maximum assistance and support from us in the form of support, tax and customs benefits, compensation for the cost of constructed engineering and transport infrastructure facilities or connection to engineering and transport networks, etc.”, the release of the Ministry of Economy quotes First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.
She added that this year the state budget has allocated UAH 3 billion to support such investors.
The Ministry of Economy clarified that investors who plan to implement a project in Ukraine worth EUR 12 million or more with a duration of up to 5 years in the areas of processing industry, mining for further processing or enrichment, transport, logistics, education, research, healthcare, waste management, art, culture, tourism, sports, and electronic communications will be able to receive state support.
To receive support, the applicant (a resident or non-resident legal entity) must submit an application to the Ministry of Economy together with the relevant documents for the evaluation of a project with significant investments, after which the Ministry must evaluate the investment project and provide an opinion on the feasibility/inefficiency of its implementation and the conclusion of a special investment agreement or refusal to conclude it.
After that, a special investment agreement will be concluded between the Cabinet of Ministers, a local government body (if state support is provided by such a body for the implementation of a project with significant investments), an investor with significant investments, and the applicant.
In addition, to support the preparation and implementation of an investment project with significant investments, the applicant must contact UkraineInvest for information and advisory assistance.
The Ministry of Economy emphasized that investors can receive several types of support from the state, which amount to up to 30% of the amount of an investment project with significant investments, in particular: the preemptive right to use state or communal land plots, compensation for the cost of building engineering and transport infrastructure and the cost of connecting to engineering and transport networks, tax benefits, duty-free import of necessary equipment, as well as exemption from compensation for forestry losses and other costs.
According to the report, projects should include the construction, modernization, technical or technological re-equipment of the relevant investment objects and the creation of new jobs. The investor needs to create at least 10 jobs with a salary at least 50% higher than the average salary in the region for this type of activity, or 30 jobs with a salary at least 30% higher than the average salary in the region for this type of activity, or 50 jobs with a salary at least 15% higher than the average salary in the region for the same type of activity.
Canada will provide expert support on social and economic recovery to 19 Ukrainian communities under the Community-Led Inclusive Recovery (CLIR) initiative, the press service of the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure said.
“The assistance of the CLIR initiative will allow communities to better understand the priorities of recovery, get the necessary knowledge and tools to develop effective inclusive recovery projects taking into account the needs of all groups of residents,” the press release quoted Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery – Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov as saying.
Communities in Kyiv region (Baryshevka, Glevakha, Boyarka, Velyka Dymyrka), as well as in Dnipropetrovsk region (Sofiyivska, Pershotravenska, Apostolivska, Zelenodolska) have been selected to participate in the program, Nikolaev (Bashtanka, Berezneguvatoe), Odessa (Shabovka, Belgorod-Dnestrovska), Chernigov (Kholmska, Korpska, Menska), Donetsk and Kharkiv (Bliznyukivska, Saventsy, Balakleya) oblasts.
The experts will provide the selected communities with support in strategic management and planning, building partnerships with international organizations and attracting external investments, developing social services, implementing sustainable development principles, and developing recovery plans and strategies.
The CLIR initiative is implemented by the SURGe Project, an international technical assistance project “Supporting Government Reforms in Ukraine” funded by the Government of Canada.
SURGe is a project on inclusive governance in Ukraine, implemented by Alinea International and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada.
Japan has purchased large-sized equipment for Ukraine with a total capacity of about 200 MW, including 5 gas turbines and 7 large transformers, as part of its support for the energy sector.
The announcement was made during a meeting in Kyiv on Sunday between Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa. The equipment was purchased and delivered by the Japanese government in cooperation with UNDP and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency Jica.
“This is very important equipment. Some of it is still on the way, but two autotransformers have already been installed, and now we are talking about two more similar ones, as well as five gas turbine units and seven large transformers. We are talking about decentralization of the power system and an additional 200 MW of capacity,” Galushchenko said at a briefing after the meeting.
According to him, the equipment provided by Japan will be distributed throughout the country.
“This fully coincides with the goals of our national energy strategy aimed at decentralizing the energy sector,” the minister added.
In her speech, Yoko Kamikawa categorically condemned Russia’s ongoing attacks on civilian objects and the population and assured of full support for Ukraine.
“It is very important to support Ukrainians to protect them this winter. The equipment that Ukraine receives from us will benefit about 5 million of its citizens,” she said.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has tripled its grant support under the Competitive Economy of Ukraine program to $11 million, the Ministry of Economy reported on its website on Thursday.
It is noted that the decision was made taking into account the large number of applications and significant interest from processing enterprises.
The increase in funding will also increase the number of grants by about three times, to about 75.
It is specified that the grants will support businesses in the production of innovative products, modernization of production, reduction of manual labor, import substitution and export growth to fill niches previously occupied by Russian and Belarusian products, and localization of production of goods necessary for recovery.
USAID’s Competitive Economy Program supports Ukrainian businesses to improve their competitiveness in Ukraine’s domestic and international markets, helps build a simplified and transparent business climate, and provides Ukrainian companies with opportunities to take advantage of international trade.
Sweden is donating 1.4 billion kronor ($133 million) to Ukraine, which will be used, among other things, to support the population in the winter.
According to the website of the Swedish public broadcaster SVG, the new support package was presented by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Aid Minister Johan Forsell on Monday.
“This is the largest support so far in Sweden’s bilateral assistance to Ukraine,” Kristersson said at a press conference.
Of this package, 900 million kronor will go to the World Bank’s Ukraine Recovery Fund, which supports Ukraine’s energy, housing, healthcare and transportation infrastructure. In addition, money taken from Sweden’s aid budget will be used to purchase heaters and energy equipment. According to Forsell, this was the request made by the Ukrainian side to Sweden.
He also accused Russia of conducting “energy terrorism” against Ukraine. “Russia is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure to ensure that civilians, who are already under severe pressure, will have an even harder time. With this package, we want to help Ukraine both build new and rebuild what has been destroyed,” Forssell said.
At the same time, Kristersson warned of the consequences if the EU countries fail to agree on an expanded long-term budget at this week’s summit in Brussels. “I still hope that everything will work out. But I want to emphasize that we are not talking about the usual European disagreements that we sometimes have, because then you just have another meeting later, and that would have huge consequences if we don’t agree,” he said.
Direct budgetary funding for Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) in 2023 will amount to UAH 5 billion, of which UAH 3.5 billion has already been allocated over 10 months, and the government provides state guarantees for another UAH 6 billion for loans that the company takes out from international financial institutions, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine has reported.
In particular, according to the Ministry of Finance, it is UAH 3.9 billion from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and UAH 2.1 billion from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
It is specified that out of the UAH 3.5 billion already allocated this year, almost UAH 3 billion has been allocated for the purchase of new passenger railcars, including the completion of payment for 100 passenger railcars ordered in 2021 and 44 railcars in 2023.
“The prepayment for the purchase of 44 new passenger cars was made on October 28 this year, including the supply of 9 new reserved seats. These will be the first new second-class cars purchased over the past 15 years and the first Ukrainian-made second-class cars,” Deputy Finance Minister Oleksandr Kava said in a release. He recalled that Russian second-class cars were previously purchased.
According to the Ministry of Finance, work is also underway to implement international projects aimed at restoring railway infrastructure: attracting a loan from the EBRD of up to EUR 200 million under the Emergency Support to Ukrainian Railways Project, a $25 million World Bank grant under the Restoration of Critical Infrastructure and Network Connectivity (RELINC) project, a EUR 37.6 million loan from France, and grant assistance from Switzerland for CHF 14 million.
As reported, this fall UZ signed a contract with Kryukiv Carriage Works (KVSZ, Poltava region) for the manufacture of 44 passenger railcars for UAH 1.951 billion with delivery by December 31, 2025.
By the spring of 2023, KVSZ had completed fulfilling Ukrzaliznytsia’s order for 100 passenger railcars under the contract signed in 2021 for more than UAH 3 billion, but pointed to late payment.
