Ukraine war: Kyiv sees post-war reconstruction costs nearing US$750 billion, PM says
- Comments from Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal came while speaking at a German-Ukrainian business forum
- Meanwhile, Ukraine’s economy is expected to shrink by 30 per cent this year, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said
Ukraine estimates the cost of post-war national reconstruction at nearly US$750 billion so far, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Monday.
He made the comments in a speech to a German-Ukrainian business forum at which he touted the investment potential of the Ukrainian agriculture sector and thanked Berlin for providing Kyiv with air defences.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said rebuilding Ukraine will be a “task for a generation” that no country, donor or international institution can manage alone.
Scholz spoke at the forum on Monday, a day before he and the head of the European Union’s executive Commission host a gathering of experts to help mobilise international support for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
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The chancellor pointed to the EU’s decision in June to make Ukraine a candidate to join the bloc. He said that “this decision also sends a signal to private investors: anyone who invests in rebuilding Ukraine today is investing in a future EU member country that will be part of our legal community and our single market”.
Scholz said it’s important not just to repair destroyed energy plants and networks, but to make them more efficient – ultimately allowing an expansion of Ukrainian electricity exports to the EU and a step-by-step transition to climate neutrality.
He stressed the need for more transparency and “an even more determined fight against corruption” as Ukraine strives ultimately to join the EU.
Shmyhal told the forum that rebuilding will be a forward-looking process. He added that “in the process of transformation, incredible opportunities for European companies will open up – in the energy sector, in agriculture, in the military sector, in IT and all other [areas]”.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s economy is expected to shrink by 30 per cent this year, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Monday, as Russia’s invasion enters its ninth month.
Earlier this month, the economy ministry said the economy had shrunk by an estimated 30 per cent in the first three quarters of this year compared to the same period in 2021.
Svyrydenko also told the business conference that inflation and unemployment were both seen at 30 per cent this year.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
