World Bank grants $200 million for Ukraine’s energy recovery

This is reported by the BBC.

The funds will come from the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF), established by the World Bank to support the Ukrainian government, provide public services and assist Ukraine.

In addition to the World Bank, the governments of Austria, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom contribute to the fund.

The project provides for emergency repairs of power supply networks and heating plants, including the purchase and installation of new transformers and other electrical equipment, as well as mobile boiler stations.

Over the autumn and winter period, shelling damaged more than 50% of the country's energy infrastructure, causing millions of Ukrainians to face interruptions in electricity, heating, and even water supply.  Millions of Ukrainians had limited access to electricity; many areas had only a few hours of supply per day. 

The power grids in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions near the frontline were particularly affected.

Thanks to the efforts of Ukrainian engineers, most power plants have been reconnected to the grid and power outages have virtually stopped in major cities, but they persist in the regions.

“Restoring energy infrastructure is one of the key investment needs for Ukraine at this time,” said World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Antonella Bassani. 

“This is critical both for recovery efforts and for resuming disrupted economic production and flows. To date, the World Bank has raised over $23 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, including commitments pledged by international donors,” she added.

Later, Denys Shmyhal reported this on his Telegram.

"We have just signed an agreement with World Bank Vice President Anna Bjerde in Washington. Ukraine's recovery begins this year, and energy is one of our priorities. The World Bank’s funds will be used to rebuild the power grid and heat supply systems in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy and towns of Chernihiv region," the prime minister noted.

Also at the meeting with the World Bank representatives, according to Shmyhal, they discussed joint work within the interagency donor coordination platform, the so-called ‘financial Ramstein’.

"Together with the World Bank, we are preparing to implement a project on war risk insurance for foreign investment. This is a key tool to attract these investments now, without waiting for the war to end. We are grateful to our partners from the World Bank for supporting Ukraine and our recovery program, which will be the largest reconstruction project in Europe since World War II," the official added.

• During his visit to the United States, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal is scheduled to meet, among others, with the World Bank's leadership.