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Six Capital Infrastructure Projects Totaling 100 Million UAH ($14 M) Developed in Zakarpattya in 2009
Project teams from several rayons of Zakarpattya oblast prepared capital infrastructure investment project proposals, which were thought to have a good chance to attract funding from national budget and international donors. At the end of summer 2009, the rayons submitted some project ideas to Zakarpattya Oblast State Administration for consideration. Following that, the most useful and clear project proposals were selected for further improvement, and the project team representatives were invited to participate in the RGD-supported Capital Investment Training devoted to preparation of capital investment project proposals in accordance with the international standards.
The training was delivered by Polish experts experienced in the preparation and evaluation of project proposals for submission to international financial organizations. Assistance in holding the training and further consultations to trainees were provided by Dr. Svitlana Slava, RGD Regional Expert and Professor of Economics with the Uzhhorod National University. Methodological recommendations, main concepts used for capital investment infrastructure project development and project expenses calculation were studied in detail. Experts explained how to develop funding proposals according to the standards of international financial institutions, and how to calculate a project budget. Consultations on each project’s effectiveness and information about different funding sources were also provided.
“Twelve application forms were submitted after the contest announcement; interest from rayons was so great that we had to increase the number of projects selected for the training. It was initially planned to select only four projects, but we stopped at six. As a result of the training and consultations, they prepared very realistic and interesting projects”, - says Svitlana Slava, RGD Regional Expert.
One of the projects – “The introduction of independent heating systems in educational institutions of Uzhgorod using alternative energy (solar, geothermal and biomass)” – was prepared by the Uzhgorod City Council. The estimated cost of the project amounts to 10 million UAH. Resolving energy saving issues was also a priority for Irshava rayon. The proposal for 10.5 million UAH was developed to apply energy-saving technologies within the state institutions in the village of Dovge through the construction of a cogeneration plant. Svitlana Slava noted that “in case this project will be successfully launched, a lot of funds assigned for state institutions maintenance as well as for electricity and heating supply, would be saved”.
The project developed by Mezhgirrya Rayon Administration entitled “Reconstruction of sewerage treatment facilities with the capacity of 700 m3/per day” is a long awaited one, because of the lack of the wastewater treatment facilities in the city. Rakhiv City Council developed a project “Waste recycling and recycling at the existing landfills in Rakhiv rayon”. It is worth mentioning that the landfill in Rakhiv is situated on the bank of the Tysa river and that poses a high risk of water pollution. According to the experts, the project for the amount of 12 million UAH has all chances to be supported by the EU, because Tysa’s water, at risk of containing contaminants, flows far beyond the Ukrainian border.
The project “Construction of water supply and sewerage systems in the Korytnyany, Kinchesh and Chaslovtsy villages” for the amount of 30 million UAH was prepared by the Uzhhorod Rayon Administration. “This project is interesting because its first stage has already been implemented with the help of the EU funds. But it is still necessary to complete the water supply and drainage. The sewerage systems required for this are already built and the required equipment is procured. The expected project result is 100 per cent water supply and water sewerage provided for the communities of these three villages”.
Currently almost all draft local budgets allocate at least partial financing for the above mentioned projects. Project teams are also searching for alternative funding sources for project implementation. And, according to Svitlana Slava, they have good chances to succeed, because all six projects are ecological and of interest for the European donor institutions, considering the fact that Zakarpattya oblast is bordering the European Union and its ecosystems. The developed project framework is fundamental for the teams in completing the appropriate application forms for each financial institution.
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