The World Bank announced on Wednesday a grant financing of 200 million dollars for a project that will repair Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
This was contained in a statement issued by the World Bank in statement and said the funds for this project were provided by the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund(URTF)
It said additional funding of up to 300 million dollars was envisaged to come from partners through grants and other contributions as the project expands its scope.
“The Restoration Project of Winterization and Energy Resources will support emergency repairs to the electricity transmission and heating infrastructure by urgently procuring critical equipment.
“Emergency electricity equipment includes autotransformers, transmission transformers, switchgears and circuit breakers, relay protection devices, and other equipment.
” Emergency equipment for the heating infrastructure includes mobile heat-only boilers, mobile mini cogeneration units, as well as other equipment and parts to repair district heating networks.”
The statement quoted the World Bank Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde as saying “now in its second year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to have devastating economic and humanitarian consequences.
Bjerde said energy infrastructure had suffered 11 billion dollars in damages over the last year and was one of the most critical areas where Ukraine needed urgent support.
“We are grateful for strong partnership with Ukraine and development partners to support this critical sector and act fast.”
The statement said during the fall and winter months, no fewer than 50 per cent of Ukraine’s power infrastructure was damaged.
It said this resulted in power outages across the country and contributed to shortages of food, heating, and water.
The statement said millions of Ukrainians had limited access to electricity and many areas had only a few hours of supply per day.
“The energy grids in Kharkivska, Donetska, Khersonska, and Zaporizka regions along the war’s frontline have been most affected.”
It said due to Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to repair the power systems, most power plants had connected back to the grid.
The statement said there had also been almost no major blackouts in major cities over the last month.
“However, significant damages to transmission substations continue to constrain their output, leading to scheduled load shedding and outages in most regions.”
The statement quoted the World Bank Vice-President for Europe and Central Asia, Antonella Bassani as saying “restoring energy infrastructure is one of the key investment needs for Ukraine at this time.”
“This is critical both for recovery efforts and for resuming disrupted economic production and flows.”
According to the statement, restoring the energy grid is a top priority the Government of Ukraine has identified for 2023, as it accounts for 11 per cent of estimated needs.
” This is according to the updated Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA2) released in March.
It said URTF was set up by the World Bank to coordinate grant financing for sustaining Ukraine’s government functions, delivering services, and implementing relief efforts.
The URTF is a flexible platform that allows the World Bank to prioritise and channel funding to the most urgent development needs identified by the Ukrainian government.
” It has contributions from Austria, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.”
The statement said to date, the World Bank has mobilised more than 23 billion dollars in emergency financing for Ukraine, including commitments and pledges from donors.
It said more than 20 billion dollars of this financing has been disbursed through several projects, including Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) Project.
