Ukraine is characterised as a transit country, covering most of the routes that connect Europe to Asia and especially controlling Europe’s connections to Russia, both in terms of inland transport and maritime transport. The country is crossed by important transport lines and the decision to include Ukraine in the Danube Strategy and on the TEN-T map for improving mobility and multimodality by developing inland waterways, as well as road, railway and air links is extremely appreciated for the development of the cross-border connections.
The Board of the Priority Area 1b, whose activity area includes projects for enhancing the mobi-lity and multimodality of road, railway and air connections, has analysed the project “Rehabilitation and future development of Ukraine’s transit potential as part of the main hubs of the pan-European transport network”.
The analysed project was approved on April 4, stipulating the continuation of railway links on the route Timişoara – Arad corridor to Cluj – Suceava (four Romanian cities) – Cernăuţi – Vinnitsa (in Ukraine). The cross-border project will be carried out in 2012 – 2014.
The members of the Committee have decided that this project contributes to the actions of the European Union’s Strategy for the Danube Region. Consequently, the Committee, which included the representatives of the countries in the Danube Region (the 14 countries involved in the project – editor’s note) named by national governments, demands the entities with a potential financing capacity to consider granting an appropriate financing support to this project.
A description of Ukraine’s transit potential, both in the European and in the Eurasian traffic has been made within the Railway Days 2012 Summit by Zinoviy Broyde, Director of Centre “EcoResource”, Ukraine.
“Ukraine’s railway transit potential is extremely high, the densest railway network being located at the borders with Romania and Poland. The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has approved the renewal of communications through the resumption of transport links in the region Bucovina – Cernăuţi. Ukraine also aims at extending Corridors III, V and IX”, declared Zinoviy Broyde.
Ukraine is determined to capitalise its transport network and its utility on the Eurasian platform, therefore it initiated a programme of investments in railway infrastructure, as well as in the purchase of freight and passenger rolling stock.
“For the execution of infrastructure projects, Ukraine spent EUR 4 Billion. In two years, we have initiated and completed more infrastructure projects than in the past 20 years. That is because until now we have not invested such a huge amount in infrastructure”, indicated Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who added that his country “plans to allocate more funds to infrastructure since infrastructure investments mean economic growth”.
Other major projects of Ukraine include the development of a ferryboat service between the port of Izmail and the Romanian city of Tulcea, the construction of a railway between the port of Reni to Odessa – Izmail railway.
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