Oleksandr Kubrakov, who was appointed as Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for the reconstruction of Ukraine/minister of development of communities, territories, and infrastructure at a parliamentary session of the parliament on 1 December, has explained why the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories were merged, the CFTS portal reports.
According to him, the merger of the two ministries aims to achieve one key goal, which is to raise the executive government’s efficiency in reconstruction management.
"This is especially necessary now that our team is developing a Digital Reconstruction Management System jointly with international partners and the public and gradually updating the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property. These integrated systems will cover not only transport infrastructure, but also the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development’s previous areas of responsibility, i.e., regional development, construction, and housing and utility services," Kubrakov said.
He added that the new ministry will have a better understanding of the overall picture of the destruction in Ukraine and the country’s recovery needs, which will significantly improve the digital management of reconstruction. According to him, this is important for communities, which need to be aware of the progress of reconstruction and know that their positions will be considered and their opinions heard.
"In addition, our team has successful experience in implementing large-scale projects in cooperation with foreign countries and businesses, as well as experience working with international financial organizations. In particular, we have managed to launch the process of establishing a Trust Fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine and establish strategic cooperation with the United States, Britain, and Turkey on infrastructure reconstruction through the joint efforts of the government and in cooperation with the World Bank," Kubrakov said.
Also, according to him, completion of the construction reforms that have already begun will be another important area of work.
"Together with parliamentarians and other ministries, we are already working on initiatives to digitize construction processes, decentralize urban planning, and increase the responsibility for violations. We have something to offer because the Ministry of Infrastructure has a successful experience of implementing anti-corruption reform at Ukravtodor (the State Road Agency) and changing the pricing and procurement system in the road sector," Kubrakov said.
In addition, Kubrakov emphasized it is necessary to complete the reform of decentralization because local communities have developed significantly over the past seven years, thanks to decentralization. "At the same time, we definitely have to put things in order in the area of energy efficiency. The first and foremost thing is thermal modernization," he said.
It was reported previously that the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development and the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories could be merged with the Ministry of Infrastructure.
