Lviv, Ukraine —To boost the resilience of Ukraine’s municipalities amid the ongoing war, IFC and the European Union (EU) are joining forces with the Lviv City Council to help the country renovate municipal buildings for internally displaced people (IDP), creating jobs and driving economic recovery. As part of IFC’s broader response to impacts of the war, the aim is to help Ukraine provide quality temporary accommodation to people who had to flee the war-affected areas in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Since February 24, one-third of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes due to insecurity and damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure. According to the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, prepared by Ukraine’s Government, the European Commission, and the World Bank, the total damage to the housing sector as of June 1 is estimated at $39.2 billion. The recovery and reconstruction needs amount to $69 billion, with nearly $33 billion needed in the immediate term, especially to address the needs for winter.
Under the agreement, IFC will channel up to €25 million of the EU funds in grants across municipalities, covering the costs of modernizing accommodation for thousands of people. The project will pilot in Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine, which has offered shelter to nearly 245,000 IDPs as of September 2022. The partnership aims to help ease the pressure on social cohesion, reducing the strain on public services.
“Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we have welcomed thousands of people fleeing the war who have decided to stay temporarily in Lviv, and we are doing everything we can to make them feel as comfortable as possible. But there are many who need additional support. Today’s partnership will help us address that challenge and increase both the quality and quantity of care we are able to provide,” said Andriy Sadovyi, the Lviv city mayor.
In order to provide secure and convenient accommodation to displaced people, the partners agreed on a set of criteria that will apply to the selection of buildings, including quality connection to utilities and proximity to social infrastructure, such as public transport, schools, and medical facilities.
“We are aligning our efforts and deploying our resources to help renovate and refurbish buildings for IDPs in Lviv that our partners at IFC will help to implement,” said Chloe Allio, Head of the Operations Section Economic cooperation, energy, infrastructure and environment, EU Delegation in Ukraine.
“While IFC continues to support its existing private sector companies, this new partnership will provide direct support to Ukraine’s people suffering from Russia’s invasion,” said Lisa Kaestner, IFC’s Regional Manager for Ukraine and Moldova. “We are grateful to our partners for their ongoing assistance and a generous financial package that will enable us to provide vital support to the Ukrainian people in these hard times.”
IFC is also finalizing its Ukraine War Response Platform, which will support projects in Ukraine, leveraging blended finance. It will prioritize investments to support business preservation, displaced people and affected municipalities, and immediate logistics and energy needs. It will also support activities to help prepare for the reconstruction. As the largest private sector investor in emerging markets, IFC is well positioned to support the leveraging of private capital for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
