Preparation of Agency for the pilot public investment project of the Agency for Restoration have begun within the framework of the Ukraine Government PPF, which is financed by the PREPARE Ukraine project

As the Project Implementing Entity (PIE) under the Ministry of Economy’s general supervision, the PPP Agency will provide support to the public sector organizations for the preparation of public investment projects that have been defined as priorities within the Public Investment Management (PIM) process in Ukraine and approved by the Strategic Investment Council, – within the framework of the Ukraine Government PPF and the project “Preparation of Resilient Projects to Advance Recovery of Ukraine” (PREPARE Ukraine).

To ensure technical assistance in the preparation of public investment projects defined as priority (“pilot projects”), with the support of the World Bank and the Ernst & Young LLC team (as Technical Support Contractor (TSC)), consultations were organized with the initiators of pilot projects selected and allocated to the Ukraine Government PPF, as well as with the Ukraine FIRST IPF (EIB) team, in order to agree on approaches and determine the scope of services/works and types of pre-investment studies.

Therefore, yesterday, October 28, the PPP Agency, the State Agency for Infrastructure Restoration and Development of Ukraine (the Agency for Restoration), and the Service for Infrastructure Restoration and Development in Odesa Region (the Service for Restoration), and in the presence of of the World Bank Group team and Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, Maryna Denysiuk, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to define the framework for cooperation and organise technical assistance in preparing the pilot project “Construction of the common use and state level road M-15 Odesa-Reni (to Bucharest).”

“We understand the strategic role of the Odessa-Reni project for Ukraine’s economy and its European integration. Our common priority is to ensure the highest quality of investment documentation preparation in accordance with international standards in the shortest possible time, as required by reconstruction during the war. We are confident that cooperation with regional structures will be the key to the success of this large-scale project,” said Maryna Denysiuk, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine.

At the same time, in an effort on the mutual rights and obligations in connection with the preparation of this priority public investment project, the parties entered into a Cooperation Agreement, under which the PPP Agency will provide non-financial support to the Service for Restoration in preparation of the project. The scope of the support provided by the PPP Agency includes:

• engagement of advisors to provide consulting services for the preparation of the Project, as well as other services/works relating to the project according to the terms of reference agreed between the parties. The PPP Agency will engage the Advisors through a competitive selection process in accordance with the applicable procurement rules and procedures of the World Bank Group;
• preparation by the PPP Agency of the documents required for the Project preparation purposes according to Ukrainian law and/or requirements of international financial organizations;
• coordination of interaction among the advisors, the parties, representatives of international financial organizations, and other persons involved in the project, etc.

Based on consultations with the Agency for Restoration, the Ministry of Development, and the Ukraine FIRST (EIB) team, as well as considering the results of a preliminary analysis of information and documents and determining the current state of project preparedness, the following approach and distribution of pre-investment studies between the Ukraine Government PPF and Ukraine FIRST (EIB) is proposed, and the following scope of services/works and types of pre-investment studies are outlined:

(i) Analysis of the strategic transport system development of wider Odesa region – within the framework of Ukraine FIRST IPF (EIB)

(ii) Conducting pre-investment studies and developing the relevant documents necessary to ensure high-quality project preparation – within the framework of Ukraine Government PPF:

• Stage 1 – Strategic alternatives analysis for transport corridor M-15 Odesa – Reni
• Stage 2 – Pre-investment study – Pre-feasibility study (according to international practices) for the transport corridor M-15 Odesa – Reni.

“We are confident that a high-quality multidimensional assessment of the defined transport corridor development plan, covering technical, legal, regulatory, environmental, social and climate aspects, land acquisition requirements, revenue potential, affordability and value-for-money analysis,  and risk assessment will provide a fundamental basis for developing sound recommendations for identifying and prioritizing subprojects within this transport corridor,” – said Niko Gachechiladze, Director of the PPP Agency

We would like to remind that in July this year, the Government of Ukraine signed an agreement with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to attract a grant from the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction, and Reform Trust Fund (URTF) for the implementation of the project “Preparation of Resilient Projects to Advance Recovery of Ukraine” (PREPARE Ukraine).

The PREPARE Ukraine project aims to support Ukraine in preparing for the implementation of projects within the framework of the Ukraine Government PPF, which have been identified as priorities in the Public Investment Management (PIM) process in Ukraine.