The roads will pay
At least three world powers – the United States, Germany and China, in the last century have designated the construction of highways as one of the engines for the development of national economies.
Today, two of the countries mentioned are members of the G-7, recognized world and European leaders. At the same time, China is one of the most dynamic developing countries. Plus, he really claims to be the world’s economic leader.
Ukraine & # 8212; the second largest country in Europe, which can be a bridge between East and West in a global sense. In reality, however, it takes more than just a geographic location to be such a bridge. No one will build this bridge for us. Against the backdrop of discussions about the colossal potential of our computer scientists and the prospects of an agrarian superpower, we are not even using a quarter of the country’s logistical potential. The transport industry generates only 6.7% of the GDP and provides only 6% of jobs. According to experts, these indicators can be at least doubled. However, these plans were based on the backward road infrastructure, the state of emergency of the roads, 90% of which required major repairs. They were constantly talking about this problem, but not doing much, there were years when no miles of roads were repaired in many areas. Two years ago, when the “Big Construction” started, many were skeptical about it, especially not so long ago, under Poroshenko there was already an example of “Recast of the country”. It all started and ended with the announcement of ambitious plans, with no visible results.
When the result is obvious, more precisely on the road, it is a convincing argument. According to the results of a survey conducted by the sociological group “Rating”, the roads are among the areas where Ukrainians have experienced the greatest improvement over the past year. More than 60% of those polled noted an improvement in the condition of the roads over the past year. According to respondents, with the achievements of our athletes, “Big Construction” entered the top three of the country’s successes. According to him, in 2022 the priority area will be the south of the country. They will actively begin to implement road rehabilitation projects in southern Ukraine: in the regions of Nikolaev, Kherson and Odessa. From next year, construction of the Kiev bypass road will begin, relieving the city and reducing traffic congestion. The construction of a new bridge over the Dnieper in Kremenchug, essential for the city, the Yampolsky bridge on the border of Ukraine and Moldova.
The development of the transport industry strengthens the economic and economic ties between the regions of the country. Areas such as tourism, manufacturing, and commerce can attract a wide range of customers. Then there is the growth of non-road industries. In Keynesianism, this is called a multiplier. In Ukraine, each hryvnia invested in roads provides 2.5 hryvnia for the growth of the state’s GDP. That is, “road” loans work for the economy and affect the rate of its growth. In all countries, building roads and lending them are not considered expenses, but investments.
The money invested in roads does not disappear. Thanks to the jobs created, the return on investment through taxes, etc., the roads will pay for themselves in about 6 years. Therefore, from the state’s point of view, road investments, subject to clear financial management and control, are an extremely effective investment project. According to its potential, Ukraine has every chance of becoming a powerful transit country between the EU and Asia, but this requires a modern road infrastructure, and not the one that was blocked in the 70s-80s of the last century .