In new report, UNDP unveils innovative financing approaches for mine action in Ukraine, including through private sector involvement on a PPP basis

The war in Ukraine has created a massive demining challenge, with the cost estimated at USD 34.6 billion as of February 2024, according to the Rapid Damage And Needs Assessment (RDNA3).

In October 2024, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has released a comprehensive report titled “Enhancing Mine Action Finance in Ukraine.” This report investigates innovative financing mechanisms to help bridge the funding gap, including new possible ways to engage the private sector for mine action in Ukraine, potentially through the use of PPP mechanism.

The UNDP report proposes an innovative model of “Outcome-Based Public-Private Partnership” (OB-PPP) that that integrates mine clearance efforts with the development of renewable solar energy infrastructure, stimulating private sector investment.

The model envisages that the private sector invests in clearing the area for the construction of solar power farms, while receiving reimbursement from the Ukrainian government for a share of the revenues from solar energy sales (which can be realized through a “Special Demining Charge”), as well as outcome-based payments as incentives from donors. Such reimbursements and “outcome-payments” provide more favorable terms for covering the investor’s development costs than commercially available loans.

“Ukraine has been identified as a country that could provide significant solar power with a potential capacity gap for new solar power of up to 6 GW. If this model were to be replicated for the entirety of Ukraine’s solar energy potential at a cost of $5-6 billion, this could bring an additional $7-8 billion for mine action” – comprehensive report UNDP “Enhancing Mine Action Finance in Ukraine.”

The report proposes that the next step involves a detailed sector diagnosis and design analysis using multi-disciplinary project teams. This process would require collaboration among government, investors, finance institutions, and stakeholders from the mine action, energy and agricultural sectors.

The full text of the report is available here: