Ukraine hopes for participation of world’s leading companies in the reconstruction of our country. This was discussed during a meeting between First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko and the leadership of SUEZ, France, which is one of the world leaders in water management and waste treatment and disposal.
SUEZ’s Senior Vice President Vincent Menuet and Head of International Development Timothée Cargill attended the meeting.
“russian aggression has led to major destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. There are big problems with water supply in the liberated territories, in the regions where there were active hostilities. This is especially true for southern and eastern Ukraine: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts. The scope of work is enormous. However, we will restore everything, and we hope for SUEZ’s participation in this work.
Another area where we would be interested in the company’s experience and capabilities is waste management. Ukraine will develop a green economy based on key EU principles. And we want the most advanced technologies existing in the world to be implemented in our country,” Yuliia Svyrydenko said.
During the meeting between the Ukrainian delegation and SUEZ leadership, the parties discussed possibilities of company’s participation in the following projects:
- restoration and construction of water supply and treatment facilities;
- construction of waste processing facilities;
- restoration of ecological condition of lands, water resources and protection of the ecosphere;
- investments as part of industrial parks.
In particular, as Yuliia Svyrydenko mentioned, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, with the support of a UNIDO technical assistance project and with the participation of central executive authorities concerned, is formulating a policy to promote the implementation of an eco-industrial park model in Ukraine.
In turn, the French side expressed its interest in cooperation, namely through the mechanisms of public-private partnership (PPP).
As mentioned by the Ukrainian side, our state is constantly working to improve and develop existing PPP mechanisms. In particular, this year the President signed amendments to the Budget Code on regulation of budgetary relations during implementation of agreements entered into in the framework of public-private partnership, including concession agreements (bill No. 5090). The decision allows for a much wider use of PPP mechanisms. Namely, it introduces a mechanism that is implemented at non-profit-generating facilities. This is very important for social infrastructure facilities.
This mechanism also allows for long-term debt planning both at the state level and at the level of municipalities, which can potentially become active players in PPP. A bill, which significantly simplifies the mechanisms for the implementation of PPP projects and can potentially reduce the period of reviewing concession projects from 18 to 7 months, has already been registered in the Verkhovna Rada.
Furthermore, during the meeting, the parties discussed the potential involvement of the FONDATION SUEZ charitable foundation in the eRobota grant projects implemented by the Ukrainian Government.
In addition, SUEZ representatives noted that they allowed the use of funds in this area because they saw in the proposed grant mechanisms a significant element of added value for the development of GDP and the Ukrainian economy as a whole.
For reference:
SUEZ has been working in the field of water and waste management for more than 160 years, providing services that improve the quality of life. The company operates in 40 countries and has 35,000 employees.
In 2021, SUEZ produced drinking water for 66 million people worldwide and provided other services to more than 33 million people. The group generates 3.6 TWh (i.e. 3.6 billion kWh) of energy per year from waste.ф