Money is received. What is next?
The organizers of the I International Investment Forum «Southern Development Strategy» aim to create progressive modernisation and innovative development of the southern regions of Ukraine. At the same time, the international community is ready to fund the development of certain industries in Ukraine. It is necessary to create a space for infrastructure and socio-economic projects for efficient investments.
Back in November, the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance launched a loan program for small and medium-sized enterprises in the agricultural sector under a joint project with the European Investment Bank (EIB) «Basic loan for the agricultural sector — Ukraine». For farms in southern Ukraine, the steppe is a risky agricultural area. Therefore, state aid will significantly increase the implementation of agricultural projects in the Black Sea and Azov regions. As a result, the implementation of pilot projects for the construction of irrigation systems in the southern regions is part of the main reforms and tasks of the ministry for 2021.
Another important factor in the economic growth of southern Ukraine is the efficiency of the transportation sector in the region. Thus, the Ministry of Infrastructure together with the EIB is ready to finance the project «Urban Public Transport of Ukraine II», which will involve 18 Ukrainian cities, including such southern cities as Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa. To implement this investment, specific projects are needed, intended solely for the development of environmentally-friendly public transport. In 2019 in Odesa, there were previously unsuccessful attempts to manufacture electric buses independently. However, even today in the southern areas of Ukraine electric buses appear primarily as prototypes.
Tourism, health, and IT must also be modernised within the temporary border. Accordingly, the leadership of the Kherson State Regional Government will attract investment to develop the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve as a tourism attraction in Ukraine. At the same time, Google is launching the online platform «Google for Tourism: Developing Online Business» in Ukraine. This allows entrepreneurs to master an innovative and modern approach to managing a tourism business.
So the international funding is there. But the question is, who is ready to take on that responsibility? Who can implement specific projects for the development and re-integration of the temporary frontier? Finding answers to these and other questions is the goal of the Southern Development Strategy Forum.