Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Approves Concept of Economic Development of Donbas

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a concept of economic development of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions until 2030. The relevant decision was made at the government meeting on Wednesday, 23 December.

As Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal stated, these territories require additional incentives that will create an attractive platform for raising investment, in particular with a focus on the development of the real sector of the economy, industrialisation, the development of critical infrastructure, logistics, etc.

The purpose of the document is to determine conceptual approaches and main directions of the economic development strategy of Donbas to create regulatory, institutional, and organisational conditions for the formation and development of the economy of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

According to the concept, the reboot of the Donbas economy will take place in two stages: the first one – under current conditions in the controlled territory of the regions, the second – throughout the entire territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions after reintegration.

During the government meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Oleksiy Reznikov said that the minimum restoration of Donbas would cost USD 20 billion.

“It is already clear that the sum is astronomical, and it is impossible to solve these problems at the expense of the state budget, creditors ‘and donors’ money,” Reznikov said, adding that he sees attracting investors as the only way out.

Bohdan Marusyak