Mykolaiv Launches ₴5B Wastewater Treatment Project with EIB Support

Mykolaiv has launched a project to build modern wastewater treatment facilities for the Mykolaiv Vodokanal as part of the European Investment Bank's program. The city will apply to the Government for a subvention, as it cannot take out a loan for the project on its own.

The decision was made at a session of the Mykolaiv City Council.

Mykolaiv is launching a large-scale infrastructure project - the construction of modern wastewater treatment facilities on the basis of the city utility Mykolaivvodokanal. The decision was made during the last session of the Mykolaiv City Council.

The project will be implemented within the framework of the national initiative "Municipal Infrastructure Development Program of Ukraine", which is funded with the participation of the European Investment Bank (EIB). This step should address the problem of the city's outdated wastewater treatment system and improve the quality of water supply and sewage services.

Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych emphasized that the city authorities are currently unable to take on loan obligations for the project, so they plan to ask the Government to finance the project in the form of a state subvention.

This is the first step towards allocating funds. We are initiating the participation of our company in the EIB program. So far, this is just the beginning - there will be design, bidding, and permits. This may take two to three years," explained Senkevych.

The mayor also expressed hope that the project will be exempt from VAT, as it has social significance and will not be profitable. Sales taxes are planned to be partially covered by the city budget.

It is expected that the European Investment Bank will not only finance part of the work but will also take over the key stages of implementation, from the development of project documentation to international tenders.

According to the mayor, the construction of new sewage treatment plants is an important component of the modernization of Mykolaiv's water and sewage infrastructure, which is especially important after the destruction caused by the hostilities.

Last year, it was reported that a new water pipeline from the Southern Bug River, which should provide Mykolaiv with drinking water, is planned to be commissioned by the fall of 2025. According to Serhiy Sukhomlyn, head of the Reconstruction Agency, the need to build the water pipeline is critical - it is one of the priorities in the city's recovery.

The water supply system itself is being built by the Agency, but the construction of water treatment facilities to ensure water quality is the task of the city authorities, and this has become a separate challenge, as it was previously expected to take up to five years to implement such a project, and water supply is due next summer.

Sukhomlyn recently emphasized that due to the accelerated pace of work, centralized water supply in Mykolaiv is expected to be launched in August 2025. At the same time, the total cost of the project was reduced from UAH 8 billion to UAH 5 billion.

Анна Бальчінос