Problem not money for reconstruction, but its effective use, says ex-MP
Ukraine will not have problems with money for reconstruction but will face a huge problem with its correct and effective use, Mustafa Nayyem, former MP and State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure head, said on June 8.
During the “Big Day with NV: Dialogues on Ukraine’s Restoration” event, he said the largest amount that Ukraine had mastered in its history is $6-8 billion per year. Now, Ukraine will have to absorb tens of billions a year for reconstruction.
That is why, the preparation of the great history of Ukraine’s reconstruction is “our biggest task at the time when the war is going on,” Nayyem stressed.
The biggest problem is people, namely specialists who can structure reconstruction projects, he said.
“What is needed are not the ‘pocket’ designers that mayors and governors had,” the official said.
“It’s true. Sometimes we see projects prepared by regions – it’s just papier-mâché. No one will undertake to build it. The projects that were done before is ‘we’ll do it somehow,’ ‘it will somehow stand,’ ‘some kind of shack’ – it won’t happen anymore because international bodies will give money for it.”
Nayyem emphasized that international institutions will make sure that their money is used to rebuild “not some box with a window, but that all standards are met.”
Therefore, there is an urgent need for designers, expertise, and consulting engineers.
The second issue is the institutions capable of implementing this, such as design institutes, construction companies, the private sector, and state bodies.
Nayyem noted that there are problems everywhere. Private companies have no experience of working with international institutions, while the public sector has no experience with such volumes of work. Previously, the regions implemented 10 projects per year, but now they will have to do thousands, he added.
Ukraine can handle up to $20 billion of direct foreign investments during a year, Dragon Capital CEO Tomáš Fiala said, commenting on the possibilities of the Ukrainian economy to rebuild after the war. He noted that it will be difficult to process more than that.
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