Ministry for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development launches Ukraine Recovery Programme III with European Investment Bank support

The Ministry for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine is launching a new phase of the Ukraine Recovery Programme, implemented with the support of the European Investment Bank. This stage has been allocated €100 million to restore critical infrastructure and support community development.

The launch of the programme was announced by Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development, Oleksii Riabykin, during a briefing.

“For the first time in Ukraine’s history, a programme is being implemented with projects aligned with community and regional strategies, and the national strategy of regional development. This programme represents a new level of planning and development, where resources are directed towards the implementation of community and regional development strategies. We are forming a vision, planning, and then receiving resources to implement projects that bring this vision to life,” emphasized said Deputy Minister for Communities and Territories Development, Oleksii Riabykin.

The terms and conditions of the programme can be found in the announcement at the link.

The briefing was also attended by Viktor Nestulia, Head of the DREAM Project Office, and Maksym Nefyodov, co-founder of the NGO “Technology of Progress”.

Projects will be implemented using the innovative DREAM platform, which automates the processes of project selection and monitoring. The platform will ensure transparency and efficiency in financial management. It will also allow for prompt assessment of project implementation progress, control over the use of funds, and their targeted allocation.

“The DREAM platform is an electronic solution that fully covers the entire public investment management cycle, from project initiation and preparation of design and estimate documentation to the allocation of funding and its implementation. The Ministry has decided to conduct the selection of such projects through the ecosystem. This means that all requirements will be structured in a single format that is clear to everyone.

Today, 1,260 communities and 23 regional administrations are already working in DREAM. They automatically receive information about the availability of new funding sources and understand which projects they can submit for this funding. The main thing is that an application can be formed in a few clicks and submitted for consideration to the regional administration and the Ministry,” says Viktor Nestulia, Head of the DREAM Project Office.

As part of the Programme’s implementation, an integrity group will be formed consisting of specialists with relevant reputations and experience. This group will primarily be responsible for assessing projects to ensure they comply with cost requirements, implementation timelines, and manage other reputational risks.

“We want to become a systemic assistant for the Ministry and other government bodies, helping to systematise the challenges that arise in the process of reconstruction. This process does not always require just punishing the guilty or reworking projects; sometimes it is necessary to change approaches to the formulation of technical specifications or to architectural examination,” said Maksym Nefyodov.

Project selection will be carried out in the following areas:

1. Energy resilience of communities.

Projects in this area focus on diversification of heat supply and development of distributed generation to ensure energy efficiency.

• Housing construction.

These projects focus on creating housing stock in communal ownership to accommodate internally displaced persons, community workers, and other citizens requiring housing.

• Modernisation of water supply and sanitation infrastructure.

Projects in this area focus on upgrading existing networks in communities to address technical deterioration.

• Reconstruction of medical facilities.

These projects prioritise cluster hospitals and perinatal centres.

Conditions for participation in the selection process:

• The project object must be fully owned by the municipality (community).
• A minimum of 23% co-financing from the local budget is mandatory.
•  Up-to-date project and estimate documentation is required (with exceptions for certain types of projects).
• Projects must be implemented within 18 months, with projects related to distributed generation facilities to be completed by 1 October 2025.
• The community is obligated to ensure further maintenance of the facility for at least 20 years from the date of project completion.

Applications can be submitted by local self-government bodies and executive bodies of village, settlement, and city councils. Project implementation is not envisaged in temporarily occupied territories or zones of active hostilities.

Priority will be given to projects with complete project documentation that meets current standards and norms, as well as those that meet the interests of the community, particularly the needs of vulnerable groups.

The Programme envisages active participation of communities, which will be able to submit their proposals on a competitive basis.

More details about the programme conditions can be found in the announcement at the link.

Background info

The Ukraine Recovery Programme is part of a broader public investment reform aimed at restoring critical infrastructure and improving the quality of life in communities affected by the war.

In June 2024, a Financial Agreement was signed between Ukraine and the EIB, providing for €100 million in funding. These funds will be used to restore social infrastructure, public utilities, and provide municipal housing in regions affected by Russia’s war of aggression, as well as in regions hosting a significant number of internally displaced persons. The subsidy will be provided to communities from the state budget to local budgets.

Within the framework of the previous two stages of the programme, 225 projects worth over €500 million had already been implemented. According to Oleksii Riabykin, several other important facilities that received funding earlier are expected to be commissioned this year.

Source: mtu.gov.ua