Recovery solutions: Germany to fund construction of 2,000 apartments for war-affected Ukrainians
Germany is funding the construction of up to 2,000 apartments in Ukraine.
Those affected by the war will use the new housing, Rubryka reports, citing the Ministry of Finance.
What's the problem?
According to the Kyiv School of Economics estimates, Russia destroyed and damaged 18,600 apartment buildings, with Ukraine sustaining $46.6 billion in damages.
"Providing housing for internally displaced persons is one of the government's key tasks for many years to come. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian families who have lost their homes. It's a big challenge," said Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk.
What's the solution?
On February 16, the Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), five regional state administrations, and twelve communities signed cooperation memorandums to provide affordable housing for displaced persons and those affected by the war.
The housing project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ) through the German Development Bank (KfW), involves building up to 2,000 apartments for approximately 6,000 people in the Chernivtsi, Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Vinnytsia regions.
The housing will be accessible to internally displaced persons and vulnerable local populations through a rental procedure developed and implemented as part of the project.
How does it work?
Communities participating in the project were selected based on criteria such as the percentage of internally displaced persons relative to the local population, availability of land for construction, employment opportunities, and access to social infrastructure.
These communities include Khotyn and Chernivtsi in the Chernivtsi region, Kolomyia in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, Irpin and Horenka in the Kyiv region, Ahronomichne, Ladihyn, and Khmilnyk in the Vinnytsia region, and Staryi Sambir, Drohobych, and Kamianka-Buzka in the Lviv region. The latter two communities also host displaced persons from Sievierodonetsk, with whom they signed a memorandum of understanding.
The Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories will coordinate the project overall.
"We sincerely appreciate the continuous support, particularly from the Government of Germany, with which we have a long history of cooperation; also, the International Organization for Migration, which began this project to provide housing for Ukrainian displaced persons even before the full-scale invasion," said Vereshchuk.
Alessia Schiavon, Head of the IOM Mission in Ukraine, noted:
"According to recent IOM data, one-fifth of internally displaced persons plan to stay and integrate in their current place of residence. Finding long-term housing solutions is key to success. The legal and technical provisions tested as part of the affordable housing project could serve as a basis for further large-scale international assistance projects in Ukraine's housing policy."
Background
After Russia's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, the IOM had to restructure its housing project, which was initiated with German financial support in 2020 and initially involved building residential buildings in Kramatorsk and Sievierodonetsk.
Since 2022, as part of the updated initiative, the IOM has started preparing project cost estimates and, in the case of the Kyiv region, demining procedures. All communities participating in the project have been introduced to best international practices in communal housing and have undergone training in managing rental income for the benefit of their communities.
As reported, on February 2, the Bundestag deputies approved the state budget for 2024 in the second and immediately in the third reading. Assistance to Ukraine amounts to almost €7.6 billion.
It was also reported that the Government of Germany, in cooperation with the German Development Bank KfW, has reached an agreement with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to further support the recovery and resilience of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other affected population groups in Ukraine by developing long-term solutions through three new initiatives.
It was also reported that the German Development Bank KfW is allocating €24 million to the Ukrainian electricity operator "Ukrenergo" for the restoration of a substation damaged by missile attacks.
