International financial aid to Ukraine is moving from political agreements to practical implementation tools. The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine jointly with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has launched the online portal  to submit investment project proposals to the United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund (URIF).

The Fund has been announced full operational. After the advisor has been appointed, key policies and procedures approved, and the initial capital totaling to USD 150 m formed, the URIF is poised to start investing in Ukraine’s reconstruction. After the agreement came into force on May 23, the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy and PPP Agency, in close cooperation with the DFC and U.S. Department of the Treasury, have worked on establishing the fund subject to international standards.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the fund is currently transitioning from document preparation to forming a high-quality investment portfolio aimed at attracting the capital in the projects supporting durable economic growth and sustainable supply chains in Ukraine.

The fund’s objective for the current year is signing first investment agreements in priority sectors including energy, transport and logistics, critical minerals, information and communication and innovative technologies. In the first years of activities, the fund plans prioritizing the equity capital investment and quasi-capital instruments.

The Interstate Consultants Engineers Guild points out that international funds’ getting down to the operational phase means a significant increase of requirements for technical quality, structure and management of projects. Risk management, compliance with international standards, and transparent responsibility allocation are drastically important to international donors and investors.

That is why global and European practice uses consulting engineers as integral part of preparation and implementation of large infrastructure and investment projects. Their involvement improves the quality of technical solutions, mitigates risks, and significantly enhances the projects’ chances to be picked out by international facilities.

It is a clear signal to Ukrainian clients and developers that reconstruction is becoming a matter of professional training, not only access to financing.