Chinese company signs deals to modernize highways in Ukraine

KIEV — The private Chinese company Xinjiang Communications Construction Group Co Ltd has signed two agreements with Ukraine's state road agency Ukravtodor on the modernization of state highways in western and central Ukraine.

The deals worth $95 million were signed in Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry by Shen Jinsheng, chairman of the Xinjiang Communications Construction Group, and Slavomir Novak, an acting head of the Ukravtodor.

The first agreement envisages that the Chinese company will conduct the reconstruction and the road safety improvement works on Striy-Ternopil-Kirovograd-Znamenka highway, which stretches from western to central Ukraine.

The other deal stipulates that the firm will carry out a major overhaul and a pothole repair on several sections of the Kiev-Kharkov-Dovzhansky highway, which links the Ukrainian capital with Russian border.

Xinjiang Communications Construction Group Co Ltd won the tenders on the road repair in August this year.

Both projects, financed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), are set to be launched in 2018.

While speaking after the signing ceremony, Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan said this was the first time that a Chinese company will carry out Ukraine's road reconstruction projects funded by international organizations.

"This is the first experience of Chinese companies in Ukraine. This is actually the resumption of cooperation with international financial institutions," Omelyan said.

Meanwhile, Shen said his company stands ready to introduce a variety of innovative Chinese road construction technologies to Ukraine and exchange experience with local professionals.

"We will bring advanced Chinese technologies and materials to Ukraine, and thanks to contacts with Ukrainians we will further advance the quality of our works," he said.

According to official statistics, Ukraine has about 170,000 kilometers of roads, with half of them are in need of major renewal.

Last year, 3,410 people lost their lives in over 158,000 traffic accidents on Ukraine's roads.

The Ukrainian government has set a target to halve the number of fatalities in traffic accidents by 2020.