One of the biggest corruption problems in the domestic economy - the road - is in danger of large-scale changes. According to the plan of the Ministry of Infrastructure, the road monster “Ukravtodor” will be reformatted, and many highway sections will become toll roads. Road construction technologies will also change – concrete will replace asphalt concrete.
Ukrainians have long heard that in the spring, along with the snow, the asphalt begins to melt on the roads. Then, from spring to late autumn, there will be continuous pothole repairs, which will not improve the situation dramatically. To sort out the vicious circle, you need two minds - to see pennies on the roads and stop shamelessly stealing them. And those who are the main custodian of the Ukrainian roads – “Ukravtodor” – are literally choking on corruption, having recognized the official of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Roman Khmil, who will be the one who will stand for the reform of the road signs.
Дорожній распадок
With the death of the road monster, “Ukravtodor” is costing the state more and more dearly. The main reason is the billion-dollar loans of the monopolist, which were generated in 2000-2012. The left part of them is the position of international financial organizations for the development and repair of roads, repairs, overhaul of the Kiev-Chop, Kiev-Kharkiv-Dovzhanskyi highways from Boryspil to Luben and other projects. As a result, until the end of the year, the borg pit of Ukravtodor transferred 40 billion UAH.
In "Ukravtodor" they know: they took out loans for hundreds of dollars. The peak of credit ratios fell in 2008-2009, when the government agency counted large numbers of Ukrainian banks. In whose connection, the government was very vimushena to see that there were pennies from the budget for the maintenance of this borg.
For example, the state budget for this river has allocated a significant amount to finance Ukravtodor - over 20 billion UAH. Ale for development and increasing roads will cost more than 3,5 billion UAH. The monopoly's bog pit has been resolved - 2015 marks the peak of the extinguishment of the bog crops for Ukravtodor.
“Ukravtodor” confirms that the accumulation of waste is to blame for the “extremely worn-out road course and the lack of funds for its renovation.”
However, to be fair, there is no reason to add chronic cancer to the underfunded warto. Only in 2012, a series of charges as a result of the destruction revealed by the State Financial Inspectorate in “Ukravtodor” and its subordinate structures amounted to 225.4 million hryvnia.
Another important fact is that Ukravtodor has always been “helped” by private contractors, whose names regularly appear in many great infrastructure projects, to master the billions of dollars. One of these “legends” is the scandalous Donetsk company “Altcom”, the owner of which some say is a yoga teacher from Cyprus, while others call businessman Oleksandr Tyslenko. At the moment, this company received the largest piece of travel pie - contracts for the maintenance of facilities before the Euro 2012 football championship.
Another of these companies is “Umanavtodor”, which belongs to the ex-kerivnik of Cherkasy region, Bakhtiyar Sapaev, who, according to ZMI, conducts a close business with the ex-kerivnik of “Ukravtodor” Volodymyr Demishkan. This company allocated 3,2 billion hryvnia for the construction of the transport bridge crossing in Zaporizhzhya. At the beginning of 2013, the State Service for Combating Economic Evils of the Cherkassy Region discredited the enterprise in the stolen 34 million UAH within the framework of this project.
However, all the reinsurance companies have been and will continue to compete in government tenders with damage, but to benefit their own special interests.
In “Ukravtodor” they confirm that the contractor at tenders is chosen wisely, the connections between the selection of the same companies and the protection of power interests are made.
“If, for example, robots are bidding for the money of international financial organizations (MFOs), then those who have won an international tender are trading, and all the results of the bidding are favorable to the bank or MFO, whether to give a loan, or for money. budget pennies - tenders are held in accordance with Ukrainian legislation,” explained Ukravtodor.
Due to the financial impossibility of Ukravtodor, no one is practically deprived of money for the roads, the company through the borgs is actually bankrupt. And the power, the economical state that, through the aggression of Russia, is abomination, still sees the money it wastes.
Why did Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk entrust Ukravtodor with a budget of 1 billion UAH to repair highways? Perhaps, on aphids in a warm winter, grind the bones. It's a good idea to move around with asphalt up to 3 million square meters. m well, on which in 2013-2014 up to 600 million UAH were spent (it costs 330 UAH to asphalt a meter-per-meter pit). Alemov only talks about roads that connect populated areas. The areas on the other side of the street, sidewalks and intercity passages of towns and villages are the responsibility of the local authorities, and they apparently don’t have a lot of money.
Thus, the situation in the road crisis is similar to a collapse - according to experts, more than 1 trillion UAH will be needed to modernize the road infrastructure. To begin, in my opinion, it is necessary not for the sake of money, but for the reform of law. And the new government, under the leadership of the “preceders”, decided to take this seriously.
Basics of road reform
The relevant Ministry of Infrastructure presented a large-scale concept for the reform of the road government, which was praised at one of the official meetings, but has not yet been approved.
One of the postulates of the reform is the reorganization of the national road monster “Ukravtodor”. It also involves the decentralization of the road management system, the introduction of toll roads and a change in the technology of their work. The reform will be carried out by Ukrainian IT specialist Roman Khmil, who was specifically requested by Minister of Infrastructure Andriy Pivovarsky to join his team at the start of the war. “IT specialists” are not at all familiar with the work of Ukrainian roads, having recently dealt with “road” problems in one of the large organizations of motorists. At this point in time, “Ukravtodor” is convinced that there is corruption, and that reform is absolutely necessary.
“Ukravtodor” is not a major problem. He himself has grown tired of corruption and is no longer afraid. At this stage, there is a great problem with the rapid implementation of necessary legislative changes in the minds of various lobbyist groups,” Khmil said in an interview with ZMI.
As of today, “Ukravtodor” is a slow-moving and bureaucratized government machine, with 172 thousand on its balance sheet. km of roads One of the structural units of “Ukravtodor”, which deals with road repairs, is the state joint-stock company “Highways of Ukraine”, which manages 25 regional roads. They, in their turn, have about 630 branches (district highways, road maintenance departments and farms), with about 14 thousand on their balance sheets. some long-outdated technology. The ministry also plans to privatize non-core assets of the holding company, agriculture, district roads and equipment, totaling over 600 companies. The final bill has already been submitted for consideration to the Verkhovna Rada.
The reform transfers 140 thousand. km of regional roads under the management of local authorities, totaling 32 thousand. km of roads of national importance will be assigned to Ukravtodor. In the 3rd-4th quarters of this period, the Ministry plans, as part of a pilot project, to transfer roads to local authorities in the Odessa and Lviv regions, since large-scale decentralization of the road management system is due implemented in 2016, which will become the formal start date for road reform.
In order to save the roads of Ukraine from potholes, the ministry intends to transfer to the local authorities the right to purchase state funds for repairs and equipment for maintaining highways. To find a resource for financing road repairs, as of June 1, 2015, a 5% tax on sales of firewood at gas stations was introduced in Ukraine. According to the estimates of the representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure, close to 10 billion UAH will be collected for the repair of this project, while in general Ukravtodor will receive about 3,5 billion UAH for the repair of the damaged roads.
“3 billion UAH for Ukravtodor and 10 billion UAH for localities are mere pennies for carrying out major repairs and building roads. The problem is that this resource already exists, but the local government spends it for reasons other than those intended (for school repairs, social programs, etc.), as there is still no proper way to spend these funds. You may be able to spend the money on a kindergarten, but the population knows that the financing of local roads is necessary, and they can extract money from the local authorities for carrying out repairs. The infection of the village head about the fact that money for road repairs needs to be taken from Kiev is no longer relevant. People just don’t know about it,” said Khmil in one of ZMI’s interviews.
The financing of the road government is carried out from the federal budget fund, and the allocation of funds is provided on the surplus principle - after the needs of other areas of the economy are satisfied, which are carried out according to the stolen items. In fact, this means that the roadblock has been removed from the direct issue of financing and stops the withdrawal of financial assistance.
In addition, the reform will affect the highly complex organizational structure of the State Agency for Highways, which will reduce the functions of a deputy, partly a traffic controller, and a traffic controller. In order to create a more efficient and profit-oriented market structure, the Ministry of Infrastructure intends to transform “Ukravtodor” into a “deputy service”, and outsource the functions of contracting and control to independent private companies.
“Control of the cost will pass to the market – to independent international and local authorities. In addition, the very work and operation will also be given to independent companies. “To do this, if you plan a road section, hire an independent worker, an independent operator, an independent assessor of damage,” said Minister of Infrastructure Andriy Pivovarsky.
Zokrema, transferring the function of the speed controller to the operation of the Doryakity holding company is planned to be outsourced to independent domestic and international companies. The Ministry explains that the government has long been unable to ensure effective monitoring of the efficiency of the economy. As the companies themselves begin to audit road traffic, the agency is still keeping it secret, but expects to release the information as soon as possible.
In this way, “Ukravtodor” will lose the “deputy service”, which manages the budget money for repairs, maintenance and repair of roads. All this sphere is going to be taken under special control.
Repairs and everyday life: how many pennies are needed and how many are needed
It is no less necessary to build and modernize roads, since the road barrier, which is in an emergency situation, is no longer visible to today’s transport pressure.
For the orienting efforts of the Fahivtsev Galuzia, in order to bring roads to the village, 15 rocks are needed, as well as rhythmic financing in the amount of 40-60 billion UAH per river.
Director of the consulting company William invest expert Viktor Medved appreciates that the sightings on today's assets will be enough to maintain the current level of accidents. “Koshti, as of today, the cats are seen to be heading towards the current level of emergency,” he added.
According to the curator of the road reform, it is inevitable that 13 billion UAH will be spent on the so-called pothole repairs, since the overhaul of existing highways and the construction of new ones will cost much more. For example, behind the head of “Ukravtodor” Sergiy Pidgayny, the probability of life in Ukraine 1 km of the most important highway of the first category in relation to 2015 prices varies between 70-100 million UAH, while similar expenses in the USA cost 10 million dollars. , in Canada – $11 million, and in European countries – $10,5 million. up to 14,5 million dollars The cost of reconstruction of 1 km of category I road in Ukraine ranges from 40-80 million UAH, capital repairs – 20-30 million UAH, continuous medium repairs – 8-12 million UAH.
It turns out that roads in Ukraine are much cheaper than in other countries of the world. But it's not so simple.
Concession of roads - a panacea for all problems?
The Ministry of Infrastructure has intensified efforts to attract private investors to the road sector. The new department's team has decided that there will be toll roads in the future for the concession. To transfer on a paid basis to the first line from the concessionaire of Vinyatkov's rights. In other words, a concession means that an investor can create a toll section of the road at his own expense and engage in operational activities.
In this case, the subject of the agreement is the transfer of rights to operate and operate the highway. This initiative provoked a heated reaction in the community, regardless of the fact that the idea is not new, since discussions on this topic have already been carried out for a long time, in addition to the projects announced by the last government. implementations.
All that in Ukraine, as a country with a transition economy, there are great risks of paying off investments in the future due to the lack of intensity of the revolution. Evidence from the Ugorsk region and Poland: the concession results in expenditures for the state budget. The reasons are the high road traffic on highways, the low level of income of communities and the intensity of disruption on the roads.
Although unimportant at this point, the ministry has no intention of proceeding with the declared reform. “The reform of the road government will allow Ukrainians to drive European roads under the wheels of a car already at the onset of fate,” the minister sings.
Ukravtodor also believes that the financial success of the project is a practical guarantee for the state.
The pilot will be the paid Swiss village Lviv-Krakovets. The length of the road to the warehouse is 84,4 km from the village of Smugami Ruhu.
Already in the spring of 2013, the Cabinet of Ministers allowed the development of three highways on the basis of the concession, against the insurance financial inefficiency of the preparation of earlier concession projects and the annexation of Crimea to Russia, a promising Of these, today the only thing that matters is the Lviv-Krakovets road, which, under the auspices of the Ministry of Infrastructure, requires investing hundreds of millions of dollars, or rather Variety of everyday life Until the official vote is made, the fragments “this is a subject of bargaining.”
The Ministry reported that at this time a number of European companies, as well as international financial organizations, have identified a problem with the financial “pilot”, but did not specify what companies.
“I think that once the competition is completed, it will be necessary to begin life right away. We discussed with the ЄІІБ, і Light Bank, і EBRD, they are ready to “open the gut”, they want to finance this project,” the minister said.
And it’s not surprising, since in the minds of economic instability, the greatest efforts are pouring into such projects and international investments themselves.
According to the words of the director of international development and investment of “Ukravtodor” Teresia Babich, the principle of this long-term project is different from others in that it is 100% financed You will receive a private partner who will not bear responsibility for everyday life, repairs and maintenance of the road.
As Babich stated, the necessary support to the competition for the construction of the concession road will be completed by the end of 2015.
Speaking about the possible amounts of paying for travel at such a cost, Babich clarified that the amount of the amount will be set by the Cabinet of Ministers.
“They sounded sums of 30 kopecks. per km for passenger cars, up to 1 UAH for vans, but suddenly the situation changed. I don’t think it’s possible to call this amount at once, everything is being handled by the concessionaire,” Babich said.
“There will be a new road, there will always be an alternative: if you don’t want to pay, there’s no need to go from the alternative road,” the minister said.
In addition to this road, another ring road near Kiev and a subway to the sea ports in Odessa may be potentially attractive for investors.
New technologies
In the process of reform of the road government, there will be changes in road construction technologies - instead of asphalt concrete, concrete will come.
At this time in Ukraine, it is important to navigate asphalt concrete roads, when they are in use, there is a mix of mineral materials and bitumen. The remaining imported material is not produced in Ukraine, and the country is concerned about the production of imported raw materials.
“Asphalt is not bitumen, and bitumen is not imported. Such roads have 70% of import warehouses,” asserts Volodymyr Shulmeister, the first defender of the Minister of Infrastructure.
According to the Federation of Transport Workers, concrete roads in the USA make up 60% of all highways, in Europe - about 40%, while in Ukraine it is only 1%, including on the Kovel highway (Warshavka).
In order to save up to 30% of the cost, the ministry has set a course for the development of such roads, although this technology can be installed on highways and other roads of national importance.
“This can happen in the front-line zone and port areas. Near the port area, a lot of grain is transported in vehicles that do not quite meet your standards, and the concrete road is liable to attract the greatest attention,” the Minister of Infrastructure sings.
In addition, concrete in the context of a road surface has a number of advantages. For example, concrete roads can lead to a 3-4 times longer life cycle and their everyday life can attract Ukrainian enterprises with agreements.
“Concrete roads are 30% cheaper, asphalt roads last 7-8 years, and concrete roads last 30 years without major repairs; asphalt roads are three times more likely to require major repairs,” explained road reform curator Khmil in a commentary.
“Concrete roads are much better than asphalt roads, because we have reduced the production of cement and the quality of 1 km of concrete roads is much lower than asphalt ones. Concrete roads last 3-4 times longer, and damage to buildings is twice as long. Obviously, there will be a need for concrete roads,” said Schulmeister.
In addition, from the point of view of ecology, then, according to the first defender of the head of the Minister of Infrastructure, asphalt roads are being replaced by concrete ones.
“Concrete roads are more environmentally friendly. Particularly in places, asphalt is vaporized and is rich in resins and carcinogenic compounds. If concrete had ruined people’s health, then they wouldn’t have stashed them in everyday life,” he asserts.
However, a number of experts call such an initiative unjustified, since the replacement of asphalt road surfaces with concrete ones is unpleasant for the great Ukrainian cities.
“Concrete roads will be mainly to satisfy industrial needs... Such roads can be built in rural areas, the cost of their life is much cheaper, but for local and inter-regional minds there is no stench come,” said the director of the consulting company William invest expert Viktor Medvid.
It is also noted that concrete roads have a number of shortcomings, imperfections, a common term for the operation of such surfaces, not asphalt.
“At the cost of construction, concrete roads are cheaper – there is one plus, there are more minuses: technological maintenance is easier, wear resistance is worse, so the term of operation will be in the minds of men 2-3 rocks have been leveled with 20 rocks of asphalt road. Plus “environmentalism,” and even in our minds we will all be using a concrete saw, which is very harmful to the body,” he added.
In addition, transport expert Vyacheslav Konovalov noted in the comments that it is too early to talk about the existence of concrete roads through the presence of financial support from the side of the state.
Protely, the transport department has no intention of changing its decision and commits to presenting the enormity of the first projects for the construction of concrete roads before the end of the project. Perhaps, the existence of such roads may have a place, unless it is possible to protect budgetary pennies, which is especially important in these minds, if in the country it is necessary to contain the pollution.
Oleksandra Danko
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