Odesa plans to install 8 mobile shelters along the coast at the expense of donors

Odesa plans to install mobile shelters along the city's coast in 2026. Eight shelters are to be installed, and UAH 35 million is to be spent on them.

The relevant decision was considered at a meeting of the Odesa City Council's Standing Committee on Emergency Situations and Elimination of Their Consequences, Ecology and Digital Transformation.

It was about amending the city program of civil protection and fire safety for 2022-2028. According to the speakers, the need for mobile shelters on the Odesa coast is significant and urgent. According to them, the issue of safety on beaches and coastal areas remains critical, given the martial law and the threat of shelling.

In this regard, the city authorities propose to include in the program the possibility of purchasing, manufacturing and installing such shelters not only along the coast, but also in other areas of the city where there is a need.

At the first stage, it is planned to install at least eight mobile shelters. The estimated amount proposed to be allocated for the program is UAH 35 million. At the same time, officials emphasized that this is not an immediate allocation of funds from the city budget, but rather the inclusion of a line item in the program. The final decision on funding will be made separately.

Representatives of the city authorities said that work with international partners, grant programs, and charitable organizations is already underway. The goal is to maximize external funding and reduce the burden on the Odesa budget. Both the executive bodies of the city council and the Odesa City Military Administration, as well as the deputy corps, are to be involved in this work.

During the discussion, the commission members emphasized that they expect regular feedback from the executives on negotiations with international partners: with whom they negotiated, what requests were sent and what responses were received. This, they said, would allow them to assess real progress and understand whether they are succeeding in attracting donor funds.

Following the discussion, the meeting participants supported the proposal to put the issue of changes to the civil protection program to a vote and recommended continuing to work on attracting international assistance to install mobile shelters in the city.

First of all, it is about the beaches that are in municipal ownership, and negotiations with tenants are planned to install shelters on leased land. One such shelter has already been installed at the inclusive beach at the 11th station of the Big Fountain, and the Engineering Protection Department is preparing a full list of locations for further arrangement.

The problem of the lack of shelters in Odesa - out of 3,696 necessary structures and 124 mobile shelters, only 1,189 are available in the city - has not been solved for almost four years of the full-scale invasion.

The Center for Public Investigations found out how the situation with shelters in Odesa really is, who should determine their need, and why even in the fourth year of the war, the city does not have a clear system.

Анна Бальчінос