The international consulting company Environmental Resources Management (ERM) will provide assistance to the Energy Ministry in the implementation of the programme for the transformation of Ukrainian coal regions.

According to a report by the Ministry, the British company, which specialises in drafting sustainable development projects, presented a draft plan for a pilot project for the transformation of coal regions on May 13.

It is worth mentioning that in preparation for the project, British and Ukrainian specialists must determine the coal region where the pilot project will be implemented, conduct preliminary consultations with stakeholders and develop a transformation plan directly by late March 2022.

The programme, which provides for drafting a project for a fair transformation of one of the coal regions of Ukraine, is funded by the British government, the Energy Ministry said.

As reported, in March in this year, the Canadian mining company Black Iron Inc., which is implementing a project to create a new iron ore project in Kryvy Rih (Dnepropetrovsk region), announced the involvement of Environmental Resources Management to conduct an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA).

ERM was selected to lead this ESIA based on their highly regarded global reputation of expertise in this field that includes several successful projects also conducted in Ukraine. ERM has over 140 offices globally with headquarter in London.

In the second half of March, the Energy Ministry, headed at that time by Yuriy Vitrenko, withdrew for revision the concept of reforming the coal industry, which envisages, in particular, the merger of promising mines with PJSC Centrenergo and subsequent privatisation and liquidation of unprofitable enterprises.