Skip to main content

Ukraine, Poland ‘boast the most modernised infrastructure in eastern Europe’

Preparations for hosting the major sporting event, the Euro 2012 European football championship, enabled Ukraine and Poland to give their infrastructure the biggest facelift in the region and beyond. While three-quarters of Poland's expenditure was covered by EU funds, Ukraine financed the building of roads, hotels, and airports itself. Ukraine, however, did receive a EUR 2.2 billion loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). "The infrastructure sector will definitely remain one
November 13, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Preparations for hosting the major sporting event, the Euro 2012 European football championship, enabled Ukraine and Poland to give their infrastructure the biggest facelift in the region and beyond. While three-quarters of Poland's expenditure was covered by EU funds, Ukraine financed the building of roads, hotels, and airports itself.

Ukraine, however, did receive a EUR 2.2 billion loan from the 2001 European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). "The infrastructure sector will definitely remain one of our top priorities in the coming years. We should be ready to invest around 30 to 50 percent of our annual business volume in infrastructure projects," says Anton Usov, the EBRD's spokesman for Ukraine.

"We built five brand new airports in eighteen months," comments Borys Kolesnikov, Ukraine's deputy prime minister in charge of infrastructure. The country repaved 3,455 kilometres of roads, spending US$5 billion of government money. Moreover, Ukraine ordered high-speed modern trains from 1684 Hyundai, South Korea, which connected all host cities and cut the travelling time by approximately 25 percent.

Construction of the roads connecting Kyiv with Poland and other EU countries is in its final stages. "The focus is now on building new roads connecting to eastern cities and Russia," commented Ukraine's Kolesnikov. In Poland, the government is set to build about 3,000 kilometres of new highways, which would connect Warsaw with the German border, and the south of the country from Germany to Ukraine. The third artery will run all the way from Gdansk in Poland to the Czech border.

Related Content

  • February 27, 2023
    Ukraine transportation ‘devastated but operational’ one year on from invasion
    ITS projects put on hold while critical services are prioritised in time of war
  • May 16, 2013
    EIB increases support for high-speed trains
    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is increasing its loan for Poland’s PKP Intercity’s Pendolino trains from US$288 million to US$440 million. The project consists of the purchase of twenty modern high-speed trains and the construction of an associated maintenance depot in Warsaw. With the increase of financing, the bank aims to ensure smooth project implementation by completing the financing plan. The high-speed passenger connections will be available between Gdynia, Warsaw and Krakow/Katowice, part of a T
  • April 20, 2012
    Ground-breaking car parking PPP in Poland
    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping to inject private finance into the modernisation of Poland’s municipal transport system with a loan for the construction and operation of an underground car park in the historic part of Wroc³aw, Poland’s fourth largest city.
  • June 11, 2012
    EBRD helps improve public transport system in Arad, Romania
    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is continuing to support improvements to public transport systems in Romania with a loan of up to US$25.75 million to the city of Arad to finance the acquisition of new energy efficient trams. The financing will support the city’s wider objective of restructuring its public transport system and improving efficiency, as well as reducing traffic congestion and air pollution in Arad.