The World Bank has confirmed its intention to invest USD 800 million in the third project for the development of the road sector in Ukraine – the Poltava-Kharkov section of the Kiev-Kharkov-Dovzhansky road (M-03). According to the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure, this and other projects were discussed during a meeting between First Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Shulmeister and Juan Gaviria, the World Bank’s transport sector manager for Europe and Central Asia.

Negotiations on the further reconstruction of the M-03 road lasted about six months. The Poltava-Kharkov segment of the road will become one of the World Bank’s largest investment projects in Ukraine. Upon completion, the road corridor from Kiev to Kharkov will be fully upgraded.

The project itself is expected to consist of two parts. The first part is expected to involve improvement of road infrastructure in a 130-kilometer segment. The second part is expected to involve organization measures aimed at improving transport safety, maintaining the highway in operating conduction, and introducing weighing systems for automobiles.

During the meeting, the two officials also discussed prospects for cooperation on reform of the State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia), retraining of personnel, and road traffic safety.

As reported, the World Bank has already provided loans for financing two components of the project involving rehabilitation of the Kiev-Kharkov-Dovzhansky road (M-03) in Ukraine. The first component of the project involves rehabilitation of the Borispol-Lubny segment of the road, which has already been completed, and the second component involves rehabilitation of the Lubny-Poltava segment, which is currently underway.