The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ukraine`s parliament, has adopted a bill to establish a national road fund to finance repairs and construction of roads and highways in the country.
Some 286 lawmakers voted for the adoption of bill No. 4014a in first reading on amendments to the law of Ukraine about sources of financing road facilities of Ukraine in terms of improving the financial mechanism of the road sector.
The required minimum is 226 votes.
Head of the Verkhovna Rada Transport Committee Yaroslav Dubnevych stated, while presenting the bill at a parliament meeting, that the adoption of the document would allow increasing the financing of roads maintenance and construction through setting up a special-purpose fund. At this, 35% of the fund`s resources will be channeled to local budgets, and over 60% will be spent on national highways.
”Some 35% [of funds], in the form of subsidies, will be allocated from the Road Fund to local authorities that will independently decide which roads are to be repaired in the first place,” Dubnevych said.
Further, the parliament voted for the adoption of related bill No. 4015a in first reading to amend the Budget Code regarding the improvement of the financial mechanism of the road sector.
MPs also decided to prepare the draft laws for second reading, using the simplified procedure.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Verkhovna Rada on March 29 failed to pass a bill due to insufficient number of votes, which proposed establishing the Road Fund to be financed using proceeds from excise tax on fuel imports, road tolls for overloaded vehicles and other payments.
According to Ukravtodor, at least UAH 60 billion is needed every year for the construction and maintenance of roads in Ukraine. At this, over 90% of the Ukrainian roads require overhauls or renovation. Earlier, the government planned to allocate about UAH 30-40 billion for road repairs in 2017.
