Government Reallocates Funds for Railcar Acquisition
The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has reallocated over 1.41 billion hryvnias, originally designated for the construction of the Dnipro International Airport, to the purchase of passenger railcars. This decision was formalized in Government Order No. 149-r.
The state-owned enterprise, Financing of Infrastructure Projects, is required to transfer these funds to the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development within ten days. The purchase will be executed under budget program number 3101820.
Background on the Dnipro Airport Project
It is important to note that 1,415,344.81 thousand hryvnias were allocated to the Dnipro airport construction under program 3107030 in 2019 and 2021. The airport was renamed from Dnipropetrovsk to Dnipro in 2021. As of October 2021, general construction work on the airport's passenger terminal was only 30% complete.
This diversion of funds signals a strategic shift in Ukraine's infrastructure priorities, emphasizing railway development over aviation projects in the current context. The move raises questions about the future of the Dnipro airport project, suggesting it may be postponed or halted indefinitely, while highlighting a pressing need to modernize the country's passenger rail network.