Latvian companies are ready to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine / Article

Latvian companies are ready to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine

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More than 40 European countries committed help Ukraine by promising funding. Initial estimates show that the urgent works in Ukraine would cost about 65 billion euros, and the long-term plan – about 750 billion euros. It is possible to partially cover it from the funding donated by the states, they are also looking for opportunities to use the funds seized for Russia.

Ukraine has prepared a draft economic development plan, will define priorities and list necessary projects. “Only after that, we can talk about the long-term economic transformation, which will be a thorough renovation of the large infrastructure. Also, in general, Ukraine plans to transform its economy, to modernize it, also using the support provided by the European Union. It will be a moment when not only restoring the war damage, but at the same time implement fundamental reforms in connection with Ukraine’s path to membership in the European Union,” said the parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica (“New Unity”), in the “Good morning” program of Latvian Radio.

Companies from Latvia have been establishing contacts with Ukrainian organizations since the spring. Discussions have taken place about involvement in various projects, including renovation of the housing stock. Companies are waiting for clarity on possible cooperation with Ukraine and also financing conditions.

Latvia will not be able to help Ukraine with the procurement of labor and building materials, but it can be very useful in other ways, according to the chairman of the board of the “Archers” company Kārlis Balgalvis.

“We can logically help with the resource we have, which is a brain resource in the development of typical projects, project management, development and implementation in life in Ukraine. It would be very expensive to physically transport large quantities of construction materials to Ukraine,

rather, their local production in Ukraine should be developed for use in buildings there.

At the moment, everything depends on who will finance it all and how, and what the model will be. It is not clear at the moment,” said Balgalvis.

He emphasized that the involvement of the company’s experts is possible when active hostilities subside, which no one can predict. In his view, as Ukraine reaches the mass construction phase, costs will also change.

Pricing issues for the wooden modular buildings and solutions company “Nordic Homes” became a reason to organize assistance to the people of Ukraine in a different way. The head of the company, Kaspars Šenvalds, said that together with a cooperation partner in Germany, they came to the decision to build temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees housed in Poland. The project has already been developed, plots of land are being searched for and production documentation is being coordinated.

“Emigrated people should be provided with places of residence that are significantly better than temporary places of residence. Because these people live in poor conditions, many families in narrow square meters.

We want to focus on this with the aim that these buildings can then be dismantled, moved elsewhere as social houses, nursing homes or the like,” said Šenvalds.

The possibility of getting involved in the supply of Ukraine is also being debated in the transport sector. Latvian ports will be ready to expand their services in warehouses and ports.

“We see the sanctions from the USA and Europe against Russia and Belarus. Of course, we also have less of these loads. We are interested in a specific way to pick up and load these cargoes through Latvian ports,” said Uldis Papāns, head of the Association of Latvian Stevedoring Companies.

Negotiations on the supply of Ukraine with the necessary cargoes are ongoing at the Baltic level and also more widely. This includes negotiations on the distribution of specific groups of goods by ports from which they are loaded and transported.

CONTEXT:

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to start invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine. Putin claimed that NATO was going to use Ukraine as a springboard for aggression against Russia, although there was no evidence for these claims. Ukraine believes that Putin’s real goal is to destroy Ukrainian statehood and bring the territory under Moscow’s control.

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has caused a general condemnation of the international communityagainst Russia more and more sanctions are introduced. Many western companies have decided to leave the Russian market.

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