Dmytro Troekurov, general director of Autostrada Group of Companies, took part in a press conference of the Business Ombudsman Council dedicated to the problems of protecting and restoring critical infrastructure, in particular, unstable financing, delayed payments to contractors, administrative obstacles and imperfect regulatory regulation.

“In 2022, the President of Ukraine decided to build three levels of protection for energy facilities. Autostrada undertook to implement this project around the clock, using its own production facilities. Design solutions developed by the Autostrada design institute together with British military engineers became the basis of the energy protection program. Construction was carried out in extremely difficult conditions: with a risk to the lives of workers, under constant shelling, in conditions of lack of funding and problems with regulatory regulation. Since the work was possible only with the smooth and continuous implementation of all production processes, Autostrada invested more than 50 million. dollars in concrete production capacity, concrete products, raw materials and a metal structure plant. The effectiveness of the implemented projects has been confirmed by military, international partners and experts. The volumes, cost and quality of the work performed have been confirmed by the State Audit Service, international technical supervision and judicial experts. The finished shelters have repeatedly withstood shelling, but due to the lack of funding, the pace of work has currently been reduced to a minimum. In the absence of state funding, the work was carried out by Autostrada at the expense of borrowed funds. The interest paid in the amount of more than 500 million UAH. are direct losses of the Autostrada group of companies. At the same time, understanding its responsibility for implementing the President's decisions, the losses incurred were not and are not being presented to the state. The state's debt to Autostrada, including for work performed in 2022-2023, is more than 3 billion UAH. Unresolved problems with the protection of critical infrastructure undermine energy security and call into question the implementation of the decisions of the President, the State Security Service and the National Security and Defense Council,” said Autostrada General Director Dmytro Troekurov.

Restoring infrastructure is not only a necessity, but also an opportunity to create a more sustainable and modernized system, provided that there is an effective dialogue between the state, business and international partners. The Business Ombudsman Council presented a report with thorough analysis and recommendations for removing obstacles, including public procurement reform, transparency of financing and the introduction of clear rules to protect businesses from the risks of non-payment for work performed.

Autostrada supports the initiative to create clear and reliable rules for cooperation between business and the state for the effective restoration of Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.