The business forum is one of four events in preparation for the International Ukraine Recovery Conference – URC-2025, which will be held in Rome in July. Representatives of the governments of Ukraine and Italy, international financial organizations and more than 550 companies from 23 countries took part in the event.

The goal of the forum is to inform Italian business representatives about available investment opportunities and involve them in the implementation of specific agreements and projects for the reconstruction and reconstruction of Ukraine. As well as to discuss mechanisms for attracting investments that will be presented during the reconstruction conference in Rome.

First Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories Aliona Shkrum recalled the recently presented RDNA4 report – the largest comprehensive assessment of the damage and losses caused to Ukraine due to the russian invasion, as well as the needs for reconstruction.

“$524 billion is the amount we need to rebuild everything that the russians destroyed or damaged. It’s not just a number. Behind every dollar are lives lost, homes bombed, millions of human stories of hardship, heroism, and resilience. Rebuilding Ukraine is not just about infrastructure or launching projects. It’s about reviving our cities, providing people with basic needs, and creating normal living conditions for them.
Our task is not just to rebuild what was damaged or destroyed. We need to make Ukraine stronger and the lives of Ukrainians more comfortable, and ensure the strength and stability of the economy,” emphasized Aliona Shkrum.

The First Deputy Minister outlined the key priorities for reconstruction:

1. Housing for IDPs.

By the end of 2024, 4.6 million IDPs were registered in Ukraine. Housing reconstruction needs amount to almost $84 billion, as 13% of the country's housing stock was damaged or destroyed. This includes 320,000 private and 37,000 apartment buildings, as well as 700 dormitories.

Ukraine is perhaps the only country in modern history that has restored its housing stock during the war without waiting for reparations, emphasized Aliona Shkrum.

Currently:

• over 76,500 families have already received compensation for damaged housing;
• about 5,000 IDP families have received compensation for destroyed housing;
• over 1,000 IDPs have received soft loans.

2. Creation of social housing.

This year, the Ministry for Development plans to launch a pilot project to create a social housing fund. This involves the construction of 6,200 apartments in 15 cities of Ukraine, which will be available for rent at favorable prices for IDPs, critical infrastructure workers and other vulnerable categories of Ukrainians. This will be the first step in the implementation of a large-scale initiative to create a fund of 50,000 apartments.

3. Transport.

This sector is the second largest (after housing) in recovery, requiring $77.5 billion. 82 priority projects have been identified in this area, of which 21 have already been funded. Attention is focused on the repair of roads, bridges, port and border road infrastructure, and the modernization of railways. This, in turn, will allow us to strengthen and restore our economic activity through increased exports.

Financing the recovery involves attracting not only donor support, but also private investment. The Ministry for Development is already working on public-private partnership projects in the field of port, medical and road infrastructure.

Aliona Shkrum thanked Italy for its assistance with the recovery and development projects of Odessa and the Odessa region. This is one of the successful examples of cooperation between a foreign country and a Ukrainian region. The Ministry is working to ensure that such cooperation is built in every community and region in Ukraine and hopes that other countries will follow this example. The International Ukraine Recovery Conference – URC-2025 should provide a powerful impetus for such cooperation.

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