The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the government of Ukraine on Friday in London signed a memorandum of understanding on a project for rehabilitation of 314 kilometers of the M05 Kyiv-Odesa Highway in the Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, and Odesa regions, as well as construction of 23 kilometers of the northern section of the Lviv bypass road.

According to the Interfax Ukraine news agency, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Oleksii Honcharuk and the EBRD’s President Suma Chakrabarti signed the memorandum, the CFTS portal reports.

The project will be implemented by Ukraine’s State Road Agency (Ukravtodor). As part of the engagement, the EBRD will also support the reinforcement of corporate governance and anti-corruption practices at the agency, the reform of the road sector in Ukraine and the implementation of measures to enhance road safety.

Allocation of EBRD financing is subject to the successful finalization of the full project-review process, including feasibility and environmental studies, and final approval by the Bank’s board of directors.

According to the news agency, a similar memorandum on this project was expected to be signed with the European Investment Bank on November 22.

As reported previously, the EBRD and the EIB will provide up to EUR 900 million for financing this project, with each of the international financial institutions providing EUR 450 million each.

According to the EBRD, the bank is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. Since the start of its operations in the country in 1993, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of more than EUR 14.5 billion through 450 projects in Ukraine.

As reported earlier, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved a loan from the European Investment Bank for financing development of Ukraine’s infrastructure facilities that are part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) at its meeting on November 6.

The Cabinet of Ministers and the EBRD signed another important document (a memorandum of understanding on a program for financing Ukrainian regional roads) during the “RE:think. Invest in Ukraine” investment forum in Mariupol on October 29.