The first meeting of the Technical Support and Capacity Building Coordination Initiative for the Restoration Agency took place in Kyiv. The event was organized by The State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine (hereinafter – SARDI) jointly with the EU Delegation to Ukraine, with the support of EU4Reconstruction Stream 2.
The Initiative is designed to coordinate the support of donors and international partners, increase the transparency of ongoing and planned projects, and strengthen the complementarity of international assistance. This will help avoid duplication of efforts and make support more effective.
SARDI is currently undergoing a large-scale transformation, strengthening its institutional capacity, modernizing internal processes, and aligning its operations with EU standards.
Serhii Sukhomlyn, Head of the Restoration Agency, outlined the key challenges facing the institution. He noted that SARDI is responsible for restoring and building infrastructure, supporting military logistics, ensuring the physical protection of a number of critical infrastructure facilities, and advising communities across Ukraine.
“Today, the Agency, in cooperation with the Government, faces ambitious goals that require complex decisions. For us, it is critically important to ensure progress, sectoral expertise, digital solutions, and professional management of large infrastructure projects. The support of our partners in the field of expertise and consulting is of utmost importance. It is equally important that this support be synchronized, harmonized, and complementary so that SARDI can work effectively. We greatly appreciate your willingness to cooperate with us and contribute to the development of SARDI’s institutional capacity,” said Serhii Sukhomlyn.
Jocelyn Cornet, Head of Reconstruction, Energy, and Environment Department at the EU Delegation to Ukraine and EU Co-Chair of the Initiative, drew attention to SARDI’s achievements and prospects for its development.
He noted the launch of the CPO, the development of digital services, and the creation of the price monitoring dashboard — tools that are becoming increasingly important in light of the growing investment portfolio.
“We see that SARDI is effectively consolidating its mandate as the institution responsible for implementing investments in road infrastructure. We recognize the importance of anti-corruption measures and SARDI’s work in the field of physical protection of critical infrastructure. We hope that in the near future SARDI will undergo a pillars assessment, which would allow EU resources to be channeled directly to SARDI. This could make it one of the first state institutions able to directly manage resources provided by the European Union. For us, it is important that, as SARDI’s project portfolio grows, we continue strengthening its internal systems and institutional capacity,” emphasized Jocelyn Cornet.
Ivan Lukeria, Deputy Head of the Agency, presented the institution’s strategic priorities. According to him, SARDI continues its gradual transformation from a roads-focused authority into a multi-sector infrastructure institution working in areas such as the modernisation and construction of water supply systems, the physical protection of critical infrastructure, as well as mobile and modular energy equipment.
According to the RDNA5 damage assessment, damage to Ukraine’s transport infrastructure amounts to around USD 40 billion.
Ivan Lukeria also stressed the need to strengthen expertise in the field of international procurement.
“The most important and most urgent priority for us at the moment is strengthening our capacity in the field of international procurement procedures. We are actively implementing projects together with international financial institutions that require international tenders. Our first priority is to strengthen the team with specialists who have experience in international procurement procedures,” he said.
The EU4Reconstruction Stream 2 flagship EU technical assistance programme was presented by Jekaterina Šarmavičienė, Team Leader from CPVA, and Iryna Kovalenko, Capacity Development Lead. They outlined key areas of support, including strategic development, public procurement, digital tools, and human capital development, as well as technical support for the International Advisory Board and strengthening the Project Management Unit (PMU).
More than 30 representatives of partner organizations participated in the first meeting of the Initiative, including Polaris, EUACI, EBRD, EU4Reconstruction Stream 2, FCDO/CPC, UNODC, EIB, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, UNICEF, the Basel Institute on Governance, IBRD, and the World Bank Group.Representatives of international financial institutions also confirmed their readiness to continue supporting the Restoration Agency.