Photo from UNIAN
Major projects are expected to be the renovation of the Zaporizhia-Mariupol highway, as well as repairing bridges and local roads.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan has announced that more than UAH 1.6 billion, or US$58.7 million, will be allocated for the renovation of the road network in Donetsk region in 2019.
"We are investing heavily in the renovation of roads in Donetsk region. Thus, in 2018, financing exceeded UAH 2 billion [$73.368 million]. This year, over UAH 1.6 billion will be allocated for this," the ministry's press service quoted Omelyan as saying during a working visit to the region on March 25.
According to the official, the region's major projects includes the overhaul of the Zaporizhia-Mariupol highway, as well as repairs to bridges and municipally owned local roads.
"The region has never seen such financing. We are repairing and rebuilding high-quality links between cities and regions. We'll never let our citizens feel they are somehow separated or abandoned. Never! Donetsk region is Ukraine, Luhansk region is Ukraine and Crimea is Ukraine as well. We will unite the country via roads," he stressed.
Omelyan also added that due to a special program, the Kyiv-Kharkiv-Dovzhansky highway was overhauled in 2018.
"In 2012, just over 50 km of roads were repaired in Donetsk region against almost 100 km in 2018. Such figures are the best proof of the real infrastructure development across Ukraine. We'll definitely change the quality of roads in Ukraine and liberate our land from invaders," the minister stressed.
As UNIAN reported earlier, about UAH 20 billion ($734 million) will be allocated for the construction, reconstruction and overhaul of public roads of state importance in 2019 from the total amount of UAH 34.4 billion ($1.3 billion) envisaged by the Road Fund for such roads. In total, over UAH 50 billion ($1.8 billion) is earmarked in the budget for repairs and construction of roads of local and state importance, which is a record amount over Ukraine's independence.