A special road fund will start work from 2017 / Photo from UNIAN
Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman calls for the efficient use of budget funds to be earmarked for repairs to national roads and insists on higher quality standards of repair work performed, the government's press service reported.
"Quality, efficient use, deadlines are key tasks to be addressed," Groysman said at a meeting on the state of the country's highways.
"Every hryvnia should be spent as intended. We are talking about roads and their quality," he said adding that a failure to comply with the government's orders would entail severe punishment.
The government will closely monitor how public funds are spent and how contractors work, he said.
Read alsoUkraine counts savings due to ProZorro e-procurement systemThe prime minister also urged them to use ProZorro e-procurement system to efficiently spend their resources.
Groysman recalled that there had been a reshuffle in the management of the State Agency of Automobile Roads (Ukravtodor), and that decision would give a positive impetus to the overall process.
"I would like that these changes contribute to new quality and new responsibility, and accelerate the performance," Groysman said, noting that Ukravtodor's new management is expected to report on a weekly basis about the state of the public road system in Ukraine.
Groysman also said he would personally inspect the repairs.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers on June 8 decided to allocate over UAH 5 billion to rebuild roads in the country. The government will later establish a road fund that is planned to start work in 2017.
Read alsoInfrastructure minister complains UAH 1.7 bln not enough to patch broken roadsThis year, the Ukrainian government is to allocate UAH 18-19 billion for repairs and construction of roads of national and local importance. A total of 1,700 km of roads is planned to be repaired during the current year, which accounts for about 10% of the total length of the highways in the country.
According to Ukravtodor, at least UAH 60 billion is needed every year for building and repairing roads in Ukraine.