Post Date:
27 July 2021
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On July 26th, within the project “Higher Education in Ukraine” for comprehensive energy-efficient renovation of six Ukrainian universities the contracts were signed with the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in the amount of EUR 49 million and a grant from the Eastern European Partnership for Energy Efficiency and Environment (E5P) of EUR 10 million.

The event was attended by the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Serhii SHKARLET, the Head of the EIB Delegation to Ukraine Jean-Eric de ZAGON, the Executive Director of Gopa Infra, the Design and Supervision Consultant Mathias LUEG, the Head of the Technical Support Expert Group for Higher Education of Ukraine Andrii Mitsai.

"Today we have taken another important step towards creating modern and comfortable conditions for the educational process. Thanks to the cooperation with the European Investment Bank and with the support of the European Union, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is starting a comprehensive modernization of the infrastructure of higher education institutions. This will improve educational, working, and sanitary conditions in the universities, improve the quality of the educational process, expand opportunities for academic and research activities, reduce operating costs, and achieve significant resource savings. In addition, energy-efficient, environmentally responsible, and climate-resilient universities will promote the transition to a green economy and sustainable development of local communities and the country as a whole," - Serhii SHKARLET said.

The contracts with Gopa Infra (Germany), selected by the Project Design and Supervision Consultant, have been signed by six higher education institutions from Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Poltava, Sumy, and Vinnytsia, which are actively involved in the first phase of the project "Higher education in Ukraine" to renovate its educational and research buildings and residences.

The contracts were signed by:

Sumy State University;

Vinnytsia National Technical University;

National Technical University "Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute";

Lviv Polytechnic National University;

National University "Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic"

Chernihiv Polytechnic National University.

Sumy State University will receive EUR 11.5 million within the project. The contract was signed by the Rector Vasyl KARPUSHA.

The partners discussed the possibility of starting the work on thermal modernization in the universities of the first stage of the project as soon as possible.

"Ukrainian youth is the future of the country, and they need high-quality education and comfortable learning conditions. Comprehensive thermal modernization of Ukrainian universities provides significant opportunities for higher education institutions to attract new students and reduce costs for utilities, operation, and maintenance of the buildings. It will also contribute to the green transformation in the education sector. This is definitely good news for students, teachers, and the environment”, - said Jean-Eric de ZAGON, the Head of the EIB Delegation to Ukraine.

Eight more institutions of higher education, which won the right to participate in the second stage of the project on a competitive basis will soon join these six universities. This is an important step towards improving energy efficiency and adapting to climate change in Ukraine's higher education sector.

Comprehensive thermal modernization of higher education institutions of Ukraine is carried out within the project "Higher Education of Ukraine", which is part of joint support provided by the EIB and the EU to Ukraine in the field of energy efficiency.

In total, the European Investment Bank (EIB) is investing EUR 120 million in the comprehensive thermal modernization of Ukrainian universities within the project "Higher Education of Ukraine", which is part of the joint support provided by the EIB and the EU to Ukraine in the field of energy efficiency. In addition, a grant of the Eastern European Partnership for Energy Efficiency and Environment (E5P) in the amount of EUR 10 million was involved. The project is also co-financed by the Northern Environmental Finance Corporation (NEFCO) in the amount of EUR 30 million. In total 19 universities will take part in the two phases of the project, 14 of which will be financed by the EIB and 5 by NEFCO.

Investments in the complex energy-efficient renovation of 86 buildings of 6 universities of the first stage will help to significantly reduce the costs for heat and electricity, provide comfortable conditions for the educational process and student accommodation, and direct savings to the development of material and technical and research base of the participating universities. At the same time, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by more than 19,200 tons or 48% annually, energy consumption will be reduced by almost 44%, and annual savings will amount to more than EUR 2.6 million.

For reference.

The project "Higher Education of Ukraine", which aims to upgrade teaching, research, and support facilities in selected Ukrainian universities, is a part of the joint financial support provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union (EU) to Ukraine in the field of energy efficiency within the special agreement.

The project provides for improving the energy efficiency of the university buildings, reducing their operating costs, improving the quality of educational, academic, research and housing facilities.

The project "Higher Education of Ukraine" is co-financed by NEFCO, which provided a loan of EUR 30 million under a loan agreement signed in December 2017. The project aims to increase energy efficiency and energy savings by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the universities, while improving the quality of education, training, social and research base, as well as reducing the cost of their maintenance.

Based on the materials of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

The photos’ author: the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.