IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Ukrainian government signed a trio of agreements designed to spur investments in the country and bolster local infrastructure. The partnerships are part of a larger effort by IFC to generate jobs and support economic development in Ukraine.

Over two-thirds of the Ukraine’s infrastructure is outdated due to a lack of modernization since the Soviet era and that has acted as a brake on economic activity. These infrastructure challenges cannot be addressed by the government alone. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) can help address those gaps.

The first agreement will see IFC advise the government as it launches an ambitious public-private partnership program. The initiative will allow the government to partner with private companies to deliver major infrastructure projects in five key sectors: airports, rail, roads, energy, and healthcare.

Under the terms of the second agreement signed today, IFC will help review regulations and explore ways to spur private sector investments in energy storage projects. The country aims to transition to low-carbon economy and integrate its power system with Europe. Energy storage systems can support those efforts.

The third agreement will see IFC, in partnership with the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland SECO and the Federal Ministry of Finance of Austria, support the city of Zaporizhzhia as it develops a "Smart City" program. The project is designed to ease congestion, make the city's roads safer, and facilitate efficient energy use by the city’s infrastructure. With 70 percent of Ukraine’s population living in cities, several cities are grappling with aging infrastructure. IFC’s work aims to help address that by advising municipal officials as they procure electric transport, install new traffic lights with smart controls, and set up a traffic management system and LED lighting. Zaporizhzhia is the fourth city IFC is working within Ukraine—the others are Kyiv, Mariupol, and Lviv—under its Cities Initiative.