An adviser to the head of the State Automobile Road Service (Ukravtodor), Andrii Martens, has proposed lowering the excise duty on fuel and introducing a transport levy for generating revenues into local budgets, the CFTS correspondent reports.
"To transfer roads to local self-governments and not transfer the financing instruments to them is to condemn them to the condition in which public roads are. We assume that the sheer volume of the excise duty can be somewhat reduced while introducing a transport tax that would be accumulated into the accounts of local self-government agencies, and they could independently manage these funds," he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
According to him, 32,000 kilometers out of 170,000 kilometers of public roads will remain on the books of Ukravtodor after its reorganization.
The adviser also believes that after decentralization local government agencies themselves will be able to strategically determine which roads they need to develop for their region's economy. For example, in the case of an agricultural business, these are the roads between fields and elevators, followed by roads between elevators and ports.
As reported, the authorities have prepared for reform of the country’s road network in recent years. It is assumed that regional branches of the Automobile Roads of Ukraine state joint-stock company (this company engages mainly in road repair work) will be restructured and re-subordinated to local authorities. The companies will be responsible for maintenance of local roads. The sources of funds for financing these operations are also expected to be transferred from the center to the regions.
The reform also involves transfer of management of local roads to local governments. Part of the state joint-stock company should remain under Ukravtodor and continue engaging in maintenance of roads of national significance.
