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Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Oleksandr Kava has identified the priority projects to be financed in the transport sector in 2025. According to him, these include projects for the creation of a network of highways that will be connected to the existing and future highway networks in the European Union, transport projects that will facilitate the creation of export-import supply chains, and projects for the creation of transport facilities that are important for the Armed Forces in terms of military logistics.

This was reported by the CFTS portal, citing the Interfax Ukraine news agency.

According to Kava, priority will be given to projects that are crucial for vital activities in the country as a whole and in individual regions in particular, such as damaged and destroyed bridges and overpasses. Such projects require rapid implementation and funding, he said.

"There will be a similar approach to transportation facilities that are important for our defense forces because they facilitate military logistics. Transportation projects that enable the economy to function and develop in the new realities and those that create export-import supply chains can be put in a separate group," he said.

According to Kava, in the road sector, the focus will be on developing a network of highways and connecting them to the existing and future highway networks in the European Union. He said that the design documentation for some projects (such as the Lviv - Krakovets and Mukacheve - Dyida highways) has already been completed, and land has been reserved for their construction.

In early December, a loan agreement was signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the reallocation of EUR 267 million for financing emergency repairs on sections of the M-06 road. It is one of the most important routes (Kyiv - Zhytomyr - Rivne - Lviv - Uzhhorod - Chop) with access to the Uzhhorod - Vyšné Nemecké border crossing on the Slovak border and the Chop - Záhony border crossing on the Hungarian border.

"We may also be able to partially finance major projects that are at a high level of readiness," Kava said.

For example, the highway bypassing Rivne to the north is already 80% complete (it is a future section of the H-22 highway, which should relieve Rivne of transit traffic, primarily from the M-06 highway from Kyiv to Lutsk and the Ustyluh (Ustilug) and Yahodyn border crossings; the opening of this bypass road will provide a comfortable transport corridor for Volyn in the eastern direction).

This bypass road is extremely important for Ukrainian manufacturers that transport their goods to Poland and other countries in the European Union. Currently, these trucks essentially pass through the regional center - through the city of Rivne - posing safety risks and damaging city roads. Construction of the road bypassing the city to the north began in 2019 and is currently 80% complete, but it is not yet operational.

"It is also crucial for us to quickly finance and construct a 1.5 km access road to the new Bila Tserkva-Sighetu Marmației border crossing on the Romanian border in the Zakarpattia region, as the bridge over the Tisa River on the Romanian side is nearing completion and work on our side has not yet begun," Kava said.

Among the projects to be financed from the general fund of the state budget is the purchase of new passenger carriages (UAH 4.4 billion).

Also in 2025, in addition to purchasing railcars, the state budget allocates UAH 128 million for co-financing projects for the development of European standard railway infrastructure with a track gauge of 1435 mm.

The European Commission selected these projects and provided Ukraine with a grant covering 50% of their cost. The remaining 50% will be financed from the state budget.

"Specifically, this includes the construction of a 1435 mm standard gauge track from Chop to Uzhhorod and the creation of an international hub in the regional center of Zakarpattia, as well as preparations for a project to build a 1435 mm standard gauge track from the Romanian border to Chernivtsi and from the Mostyska-1 station near the Polish border to Lviv," Kava said.