Ukraine earmarks 534 mln USD for road improvement in 2016
Xinhua, March 22, 2016 Adjust font size:
Ukraine will spend 534 million U.S. dollars this year to improve its road network, Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said in an interview aired on Monday.
"Thanks to the funding allocated by the state budget and by international organizations, we plan to construct and renovate more than 1,700 kilometers of roads," Yatsenyuk said in the interview with local TV channel.
Out of the total funding for the road overhaul, about 228 million dollars were allocated from the state budget, while the rest came from international lenders, he said.
About 60 percent of the funding will go for routine repairs of highways, while the rest will be used for minor repairs and maintenance works on regional roads, he said.
According to Ukrainian traffic authorities, the East European country has about 170,000 km of roads, with half of them are in need of major renewal.
Poor road condition is one of the main reasons behind frequent traffic accidents in Ukraine, which are estimated to cost the country between 3 percent and 4 percent of its gross domestic product annually. Enditem