The construction of the first toll road in Ukraine should begin this year. The company Avtomagistral-South completed a feasibility study, and Ukravtodor named the price for using the highway.

Almost a year ago, a memorandum was signed between the State Agency for Highways of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) and Avtomagistral-South on the preparation of a proposal for the implementation of a public-private partnership within the framework of the project for the construction and operation of a highway along the Krakovets-Brody-Rivne route (with the exception of the section of the Northern Bypass of Lviv).

The first toll road in Ukraine will cost about 8 euro cents per kilometer (about 2.6 hryvnias). Currently, the use of the 280 km land route between Krakovets and Rivne is free.

As envisaged by the memorandum, Motorway-South, at its own expense, prepared a proposal for the implementation of a public-private partnership, in particular, developed a feasibility study (feasibility study) for the implementation of the project.

For the construction of the Northern Bypass of Lviv this year, an open international tender will be held in accordance with the rules and principles of the IFI in the framework of cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The bypass of Lviv together with the new road Krakovets - Brody - Rovno will create a new transport corridor of international importance.

The signing of the Memorandum will allow us to announce an open competition in the near future to select a private investor for the construction of the Krakovets-Brody-Rivne route. It should be a modern road of the European level, connecting the capital of Ukraine with the largest cities in Europe.

Oleksandr Kubrakov, Head of Ukravtodor

Earlier the Ministry of Infrastructure denied information about a public-private partnership (PPP) and the construction of six toll highways with a certain marginal cost of toll collection, making a statement that: "the roads of Great Budіvnytstva will never be paid."

These were, in particular, six road sections with a total length of 1,500 km, which were selected for potential BPF pilot projects:

• Kharkiv - Dnipro - Zaporozhye (M - 29, M - 04, M - 18);
• Borispol - Poltava (M - 03);
• Kherson - Nikolaev (M - 14);
• Kiev - Zhytomyr - Rivne (M - 06);
• Yagodin - Kovel - Lutsk (M - 07, M - 19);
• Dnipro - Krivoy Rog - Nikolaev (M - 04, H11).

There will be no tolls under this project. The investor's contributions will be compensated from public funds. That is, in fact, we are talking about a kind of payment format in installments, which is better known in the world as availability payments or payment for availability.

According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, now in Ukraine there is not a single public road built at the expense of private investors. The first concession project is the construction of the road Krakovets-Brody-Rivne (feasibility study from Avtomagistral-South).

“The construction of concession roads will start soon in Ukraine. Largest future projects: Kyiv bypass road, M-05 Kyiv-Odessa, M-14 Odessa-Nikolaev-Kherson, M-24 Mukachevo-Beregovo-Luzhanka, H-08 Boryspil-Pereyaslav, bypass of the city of Chernivtsi, concession road Krakovets-Lviv-Brody-Rivne," as Avtomagistral-South reported.

The length of the route Lviv-Brody-Rivne will be about 280 km, officials plan to reduce the time of the route from 4 hours 20 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes. The road is designed for a speed of 130 km/h.

The project is planned to be implemented in three stages, the first work should begin this year.

According to Mykola Timofeev, the director of Avtomagistral-South, the existing roads can no longer cope with traffic between Ukraine and the EU. The concession road of the first category will make it possible to take the transport corridor beyond the boundaries of settlements, make communication with neighboring countries more comfortable and faster and, accordingly, strengthen economic ties with the European Union.

We have taken the first step into the future of concession roads. They acted as the developer of a feasibility study for the project of the first category route Krakovets-Lviv-Brody-Rivne. Currently, the preparation of the feasibility study is almost completed. Ready route, together with European consultants, an economic and financial model has been developed. The Ministry of Infrastructure announces the launch of the project.

Avtomagistral-South