World Bank says $411 billion will be needed to rebuild Ukraine

The World Bank (WB) calculates that some US$ 411,000 million (383,000 million euros) are needed to rebuild Ukraine after a year of Russian invasion, according to a report issued today by the institution together with the Ukrainian Government, the European Commission and the UN.

The figure represents more than double the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022, and much of it would go to restoring transport and energy systems, as well as rebuilding homes affected by the war.

The more than US$400 billion is the amount that would be needed to bring the country back to normal over the next decade. By 2023, the World Bank estimates that some US$14 billion will be needed.

In a statement, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal explained that the figure does not take into account the damage in the territories currently occupied by Russia, and assured that the country’s authorities will start working on them as soon as they are liberated by forces. of security.

Despite the fact that the reconstruction of the country “it will last for years (…) their resilience and determination, as well as the support of their allies during the invasion, are containing the damage and reducing the needs”, said, for her part, the vice president for Europe and Central Asia of the World Bank, Anna Bjerde.

Bjerde called on private investors to do their part to help kyiv, as support for Ukraine “it is an investment (…) in the global economy”.

In a call with journalists from the Ukrainian capital, Bjerde explained that during his assessment they have seen that the damage in the country throughout the first year of the war, which began on February 24, 2022, has not been recorded at the same rate as in the first three months of the war.

This, he added, is due to the fact that the most intense hostilities are concentrated in an area that has already suffered “significant” damage and that some of the country’s needs have been covered by the Ukrainian Executive with the support of its partners.

In addition, “the ability to keep the government running and services flowing have helped limit the escalation of recovery and rebuilding costs“, he pointed.

Just on Tuesday, Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that they have reached a four-year agreement at the technical staff level to access a US$15.6 billion fund.

The pact, which is still subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, will allow Kiev to develop fiscal and macroeconomic policies that help it return to sustainable debt and advance on its path to accession to the European Union, the agency said.

This Thursday is the second estimate of the cost of restoration issued by the World Bank. In September 2022, it was estimated at 349,000 million dollars.

The report also calculates the economic value of the damage to the country’s infrastructure at US$ 135 billion, and finds that 37% (almost 50 billion) corresponds only to destroyed homes.

The World Bank further noted that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed more than 7 million people into poverty and reversed 15 years of development.

Source: EFE