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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Sydney to get second airport, major roads package
    April 16, 2014
    Following the announcement of the US$2.4 billion project to build a long-awaited second airport for Sydney, Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has unveiled a US$3.27 billion roads package for western Sydney to provide the infrastructure that will make the airport work. The Commonwealth will contribute US$1.2 billion for the roads over the next four years, with total spending to increase to US$2.9 billion over eight years. New South Wales will contribute a further 20 per cent, bringing the total fundin
    Read More
  • EU identifies priorities for trans-European transport network until 2030
    January 20, 2015
    The European Commission has published nine studies on the state of play and the development needs of the Ten-T core network corridors. The studies have identified infrastructure development needs which represent approximately US$811 billion of financial investment until 2030. They highlight the importance of optimising the use of infrastructure along the corridors, notably through intelligent transport systems, efficient management and the promotion of future-oriented clean transport solutions. This is the
    Read More
  • Prime Minister’s ‘roads revolution’ good news for industry
    November 11, 2014
    Responding to the UK Prime Minister’s announcement which outlined a ‘roads revolution,’ the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has said that plans to deliver roads improvements across the country are good news for the freight and logistics industry. David Cameron stated that plans for the biggest road building programme for almost half a century will be unveiled in next month's Autumn Statement and would contain a US$24 billion overhaul of 100 of Britain's busiest roads and motorways by the end of the
    Read More
  • EBRD invests in trolleybuses for Kyrgyz Republic
    March 26, 2012
    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting support for public transport in the Kyrgyz Republic with a US$10.1 million sovereign loan, accompanied by a US$ 5.5 million grant from the EBRD’s Shareholder Special Fund, for the benefit of the municipally owned Bishkek Trolleybus Company.
    Read More

Highlighted Content