UAH 11.53 billion will be directed to the Oblast State Administrations for construction and repair of local roads. The heads of the Oblast State Administrations will have all the levers to provide high-quality roads on the ground, in accordance with the Programme of Road Network Decentralisation, emphasised Oleksandr Kharchenko, Acting Deputy Head of the State Agency of Motor Roads (Ukravtodor) at the press conference in Ukrinform.

“This year, 35% of the state road fund in the amount of UAH 11.53 billion will be directed to the Oblast State Administrations and the city of Kyiv. Local self-government bodies will be the ones to spend money on construction and repair of local roads and to be responsible for their operation,” he said.

He also noted that decentralisation of roads, which started on 1 January 2018, is an extremely powerful impetus for quality development and maintenance of roads. “A clear division of responsibilities for roads between central and local authorities will help to ensure targeted allocation of funds in line with the greatest needs in the oblasts. This is a substantial responsibility, because every head of the OSA will now have all the levers of influence to provide the residents of the regions with high-quality roads,” he said.

According to Mr Kharchenko, 60% of the road fund in the amount of UAH 19.56 billion will be directed to roads of national importance.

“Over UAH 6 billion out of these funds will be directed to repayment of Ukravtodor’s debt obligations of the previous years,” Kharchenko said.

He added that the total amount of debt is more than UAH 42 billion.

In addition, Oleksandr Kharchenko noted that 5% of the state road fund will be allocated to security measures.

More information on roads decentralisation is available HERE