- The
cost of reconstruction and recovery for Ukraine after the war is more than
$400 billion.
- For the reconstruction of its steelmaking industry, Ukraine
is looking to raise $40 billion.
- There is a chance that the iron and steel industry could be
rebuilt to use renewable sources of power instead of coal.
Ukraine
is looking to raise initial funding of up to $40 billion to rebuild one of its
most important industries – iron and steelmaking – including by reducing
dependence on coal and launching a green steel industry after the war.
The
Russian invasion has decimated iron and steel production in Ukraine, which
still remains the second-largest pillar of the economy after agriculture.
Most
of Ukraine's steel-producing plants are located in the eastern part of the
country as they have traditionally relied on the coal mined in the Donbas
region. But the Russian invasion and the occupation of part of the region, including
a large steelmaking center such as Mariupol, has resulted in steel plants
working at around 15% capacity most of the time.
Ukraine
hopes that it can mobilize public and private sector funding to restore its
industry and economy after the end of the war.
The cost of reconstruction and recovery for Ukraine after the war
is more than $400 billion,
a joint assessment by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the
European Commission, and the United Nations showed one year after the Russian
invasion.
Ukraine will need $40 billion for an initial reconstruction, whose
first order of business will be the iron and steel industry, Rostyslav Shurma,
deputy head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told Reuters this
week.
Ukraine is making its pitch to governments and the private sector
at the ongoing Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023 hosted
by Ukraine and the UK in London on Wednesday and Thursday. Related: Energy Regulator Claims Canadian Oil Production
Will Plunge 76% By 2050
The
conference, bringing together governments and industry leaders to develop a
multi-sector plan to help Ukraine to recover, will focus on mobilizing
international support for Ukraine's economic and social stabilization and
recovery from the effects of war.
There
is a chance that the iron and steel industry could be rebuilt to use renewable
sources of power instead of coal, Shurma said.
The
industry, second only to agriculture, generated 10% of Ukraine's GDP in the
year before the Russian invasion, and accounted for one-third of Ukraine's
revenues and 15% of carbon emissions.