EIB developing energy-efficient housing restoration program for Ukraine with EUR 230 mln budget.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has developed a program for the energy-efficient restoration of war-damaged multi-story buildings. The program's total budget is EUR 230 million, with a EUR 30 million pilot phase, Oksana Remiga, Senior Officer for Lending Operations at the EIB, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"The energy-efficient restoration program for war-damaged multi-story buildings is fully designed, with a budget of EUR 230 million, including a EUR 30 million pilot phase. In Ukraine, there is a systematic solution for compensating the repair of individual affected apartments within the framework of the eRecovery project. We will work comprehensively with entire buildings. In fact, from our side, the pilot project has gone through all the coordination stages and awaits signing from the Ukrainian side," stated Remiga during the International Mayors Summit in Chisinau.

She added that within this project, there is already an agreement with Germany to provide a EUR 3 million grant through GIZ (German Corporation for International Cooperation) for technical assistance.

"In principle, GIZ experts are ready to start developing technical documentation now, parallel to the completion of all procedures by the Ukrainian side," she said.

The beneficiaries of the project will be municipalities. At the pilot stage, the bank has already formed a shortlist to streamline the procedure as quickly as possible. In the future, there will be a competitive procedure for communities and projects.

"Another critical issue that needs to be addressed systematically is that the most affected municipalities, especially those in need of restoration, cannot take loans. Money for such projects can only come to them as grants. This is one of the points that should be legally defined in the near future," Remiga stated.

However, according to her, even the initial selection of municipalities by the Ministry of Reconstruction and their coordination with the bank can signal to GIZ to start developing specific projects in communities.

In total, GIZ has already analyzed 27 cities, assessing their need to participate in the program and their interest in it.

"One of the key requirements from our side was the presence of mechanisms for public control, community engagement, and involving the public in decision-making and monitoring," Remiga said.

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