The Road Fund has financed work worth UAH 11.5 billion in 2023, which is half the requirement, head of the agency Mustafa Nayyem said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"In 2023, only UAH 11.5 billion was financed. The need is twice as much - UAH 22 billion. During this time, almost 4,000 km of highways of national importance and 142 bridges located on them were destroyed in the controlled territory alone. Some 25 bridges are in extremely poor condition and are not suitable for use. The cost of restoring these bridges is UAH 3.3 billion, but this year we have UAH 2.1 billion (for these works)," Nayyem said.

In general, during the war, in 2022-2023, transport links were resumed at 85 sites, temporary crossings and detours were arranged. More than 917 km of emergency roads, important for military needs and evacuation routes, were repaired.

Nayyem emphasized that the Agency supports the government's decision to increase resources for the needs of the Armed Forces, however, the abolition of the Road Fund could have a negative impact specifically on military logistics.

According to him, modernization, repair and maintenance of the 29 most critical checkpoints, which were transferred to the Agency, and other work, which was partially planned to be carried out at the expense of the Road Fund, are also at risk.

The abolition of the Road Fund could also affect the market for contractors, most of who "worked on loans" during the war, and there is a possibility that some of them could freeze their activities.

"But I hope that we will be able to avoid this. I am sure that both the government and parliament will realize this and will find the optimal solution to maintain critical road infrastructure without diverting resources from defense needs," Nayyem noted.