The state budget law does not provide for major road repairs in 2026.
No major road repairs are planned for 2026, while the state budget has allocated UAH 8.6 billion for pothole repairs. This was reported by Dengi.ua, citing an interview with the head of the State Reconstruction Agency, Serhiy Sukhomlin, with Ekonomichna Pravda. PromPolitInform reports.
According to him, no funds have been allocated for major repairs this year, as in the past, so routine repairs—milling and patching potholes—will be carried out again. Furthermore, there is a high risk that this situation will repeat itself next spring.
“In 2023, UAH 42 billion was allocated for roads, of which zero was for local roads. In 2024, UAH 21.5 billion was allocated, with zero for local roads. “In 2025, 18.6 billion rubles will be spent on repairs and maintenance, of which 1.8 billion rubles will be allocated for local roads. For 2026, 12.6 billion rubles are allocated, of which 2.5 billion rubles will be spent on checkpoints and international projects, and only 8.6 billion rubles will be spent on routine repairs and maintenance,” said Sergey Sukhomlin.
He also announced that complete information on all national roads will be collected by February 20, detailing specific sections, volumes, and costs.
Furthermore, the head of the State Reconstruction Agency discussed the fate of the “road cartel” during the Great Construction program and the current cost of repairs.
“Relatively, as you say, a ‘cartel.’ When we joined the Agency at the end of 2024, we realized that funds for 2025 were insufficient. The first step was to analyze the cost of road maintenance contracts for 2024. Contracts are signed for 3-4 years, as this involves the movement of equipment, the establishment of bases, and the full organization of the process. We analyzed the tenders and found that in one region, a square meter of repairs cost 2,400 hryvnias, while in others, it was 1,100. For identical work, such a difference is unjustified. Logistics can influence the price, but not by a factor of two. Our institute calculated a fair average cost – approximately 1,200 hryvnias per square meter. We gathered all the companies, showed them the calculations, and offered to renegotiate the contracts at a lower price, even though the contracts were still valid for another 2-3 years. They agreed to revise the terms. “Just by revising the price, we saved over a billion hryvnias,” Sukhomlin reported.
Meanwhile, as reported, road repairs in the Lviv region, worth 5 billion hryvnias, topped the top 10 tenders of the week. Additionally, we previously reported on who received funds for what in 2025 under the top State Reconstruction contracts.
