Deputy PM for Restoration: Over 100 schools to be restored in partnership with UNDP, UNOPS
The Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Office of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) have agreed on joint activities to implement two school restoration projects – ECHO4SCHOOLS-UA and Rehabilitation of Schools across Ukraine, the press service of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine has reported.
As part of these projects, implemented with the support of First Lady Olena Zelenska, it is planned to renovate and modernize more than 100 schools in 14 regions of Ukraine.
"I am grateful to our partners from UNDP and UNOPS for their cooperation and willingness to work quickly to ensure that the start of the new school term is not disrupted for many Ukrainians. We look forward to deepening our cooperation. Restoring and equipping the educational infrastructure is one of the necessary conditions for Ukrainians to return home," Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine, Minister for the Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
"I would like to express my special gratitude to the European Commission, which has allocated EUR 100 million to rebuild and modernise schools, including through these projects," he said.
The Deputy Prime Minister added that both projects put special emphasis on improving the safety of infrastructure, in particular, by repairing and equipping bomb shelters.
The project "ECHO4SCHOOLS-UA: Renovation/Modernization of Schools in War-affected Regions" with a budget of about EUR 14 million is being implemented by UNDP and aims to repair initially 50 schools in 10 regions of Ukraine. Preparations are underway for tenders for repair work in the first batch of schools. In the future, it is planned to increase the number of renovated schools to more than a hundred.
The second project: "Rehabilitation of Schools across Ukraine" – is being implemented by UNOPS, its budget is EUR 20 million. Within its framework, the emergency repairs of schools in four regions: Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv regions.
Some 54 educational institutions in need of restoration have already been selected and approved. For eight objects, documentation is already being prepared for tender procedures. Thanks to the implementation of the project, more than 20,000 students will be able to start the new school term in decent conditions.
