On 7 April, a press conference was held to announce the results of the selection of projects under the third phase of the €100 million Recovery Programme for Ukraine, funded by the European Investment Bank.
The event was also attended by Viktor Nestulia, Head of the DREAM Project Office, Kristina Mikulova, Head of the European Investment Bank Office in Ukraine, and Jaco Silier, UNDP Resident Representative in Ukraine.
Oleksiy Ryabikin, Deputy Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, said that 131 projects totalling UAH 4.5 billion had been approved under the third phase of the Programme.
“This time we have implemented a completely new approach to project selection. We have created an expert working group consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, associations of local self-government bodies, as well as civil society and anti-corruption organisations. Each community that applied had the opportunity to speak to the expert group, justifying the motivation and importance of their projects. This ensured an open, transparent and professional selection process. Almost 4 million Ukrainians in 110 communities will benefit from the results of the Ukraine Recovery Programme III. This includes an additional 81 megawatts of electricity and at least 189 apartments for internally displaced persons,” said Oleksiy Ryabikin.
He emphasised that only ready-made design and estimate documentation was accepted for consideration, which helped save time and speed up the start of project implementation. The implementation period for approved initiatives is up to 18 months. The energy resilience projects must be completed before the start of the new heating season to ensure that communities are better protected this winter.
Kristina Mikulova, Head of the EIB’s Regional Representation for Eastern Europe, said that the demand for participation in the programme confirmed the high interest of communities in recovery.
“The EIB’s recovery programmes are helping communities across Ukraine to rebuild and move forward. The strong response to the call for applications for the third phase of the programme clearly demonstrates the huge need for assistance and the interest of communities in restoring critical services. Together with the EU Delegation, the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development and with the technical support of UNDP, we are working hard to ensure that support is provided where it is needed most – helping communities regain stability, strengthen resilience and restore access to vital services,” said Kristina Mikulova.
In his turn, Viktor Nestulia, Head of the DREAM Project Office, emphasised the importance of digital tools in implementing a large-scale investment programme.
“Together with the Ministry of Development and the EIB team, we used the DREAM system for the first time to collect applications, evaluate them and allocate funds under a loan from international financial institutions. It was a crucial stage, and it was successful. Today, anyone can log in to the DREAM public portal and in a few clicks see each application submitted under OGP III: its components, how many people will have access to a particular service, project estimates, supporting documents, procurement, etc. This significantly increases transparency, accountability and trust in the process, as well as the effectiveness of the programme,” said Viktor Nestulia.
He noted that the platform has already become part of a new approach to public investment management: it allows for the full life cycle of a project, from application to implementation. The next step is to fully integrate DREAM into the state public investment management system.
UNDP Resident Representative to Ukraine Jaco Silier stressed that UNDP’s role in the Ukraine Recovery Programme goes far beyond financing infrastructure solutions. It is primarily about strengthening the capacity of communities and reducing investment risks through comprehensive technical support.
“UNDP’s role is to provide technical support and ensure the quality of project implementation. This means that we reduce investment risks through supervision, financial monitoring, anti-corruption measures, and stakeholder analysis. UNDP is involved in engaging stakeholders in various initiatives, as well as helping to build capacity to apply for loans, as well as in supervising implementation and monitoring,” said Jaco Silje.
He also announced UNDP’s next steps: the UNDP technical assistance team will conduct a second screening, technical site visits, and finalise its findings by the end of May. These conclusions will be shared with the Ministry of Development, the EIB and other involved ministries.
As a reminder, the selection of projects under U-LEAD with Europe III was completed on 1 April. The expert working group approved 131 projects to be implemented in hromadas in four key areas:
- energy sustainability of communities: 37 projects for UAH 1.1 billion;
- modernisation of water supply and sewerage infrastructure: 68 projects for UAH 2.0 billion;
- reconstruction of medical facilities: 21 projects for UAH 1.1 billion;
- construction of housing for internally displaced persons: 5 projects for UAH 0.3 billion.
The third phase of the Ukraine Recovery Programme is funded by the European Investment Bank’s €100 million Tranche A. The government has also decided to raise an additional €100 million to scale up the initiative. A new selection is expected this year.
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