News

⚡ Unique Opportunities for Finnish-Ukrainian Cooperation

On November 12, 2024, in Warsaw, Poland, a business meeting with representatives of Finnish businesses took place as part of the international ReBuild Ukraine exhibition. The event was organized by Business Finland OY with the support of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine.

🤝 The gathering brought together around 200 representatives from Ukrainian and Finnish businesses, government bodies, and international organizations, providing an opportunity for B2B interactions, networking, and the establishment of new partnerships.

During the meeting, participants discussed practical issues faced by Finnish companies in Ukraine’s construction sector, the development of typical hospital designs for Ukraine, and the establishment of foundations for transparent and inclusive project portfolio management in Ukraine.

✔️ The event was opened by Sergii Malynovskyi, Country Advisor, Business Finland, who thanked attendees and expressed hope for a productive discussion aimed at the quality reconstruction of Ukraine.

👤 The B2B meeting featured representatives from Finnish businesses, introduced by Jyrki Harkki, Senior Advisor, Business Finland. Among them were companies from sectors such as: 

💠 concrete production technology and equipment 

💠 construction technologies 

💠 energy 

💠 engineering, consulting, architectural services, and research 

💠 defense industry 

💠 water and waste management 

💠 and other sectors.

👤 Lev Partskhaladze, President of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine, provided an overview of the current situation in the country and the prospects for reconstruction. He noted that around 1 billion square meters of housing have been built in Ukraine, with 60% apartment buildings and 40% private houses.

In comparison, the European market averages about 50 square meters of housing per person, while in Ukraine this figure is only 24 square meters per person.

☝️ Mr. Partskhaladze added that 70% of apartment buildings were constructed after World War II, and today 80% of them are outdated.

Before the war, Ukraine was commissioning around 10 million square meters of housing annually, but over the past two years, this figure has dropped to 3 million square meters per year.

🗨️ “Based on pre-war indicators, it would take Ukraine 200 years to reach the European level, which means we need to change our strategy and implement new standards in the rebuilding process,” emphasized Lev Partskhaladze.

He informed the participants about the CBU's collaboration with Finnish colleagues on developing typical shelter and hospital designs in Ukraine. He noted that CBU is interested in finding partners and expanding cooperation to implement these projects.

🤝 Key areas were presented at the meeting where Finnish companies can contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction.

👤 Serhii Sukhomlyn, Head of the Agency for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine, explained that the Agency focuses its efforts on communities: “These will be community-based projects, and they will be implemented by the communities themselves with Agency support. This includes the construction of social housing—the first 50,000 apartments are set to begin next year. It’s essential for us that people who temporarily left Ukraine have somewhere to return to. This also includes replacing street lighting with more energy-efficient systems and equipping critical infrastructure facilities, such as water utilities, with solar power stations.”

He mentioned that construction of a water pipeline will begin this year in Mykolaiv, with plans to fully supply the city with clean water by next year.

💡 The Agency also continues its efforts to protect energy facilities: “We are working with banks to develop public-private partnership models for constructing energy facilities, primarily CHP plants that can burn processed waste.”

🌉 Mr. Sukhomlyn emphasized the opportunities for Finnish companies in road construction and the restoration of bridges destroyed during the war: “To restore transportation infrastructure, we will need not hundreds or millions, but billions of euros. This presents both a challenge for Ukraine and opportunities for European companies.”

🗨️ “But we clearly understand that relying only on credit and grant funds will not be enough to rebuild Ukraine. Private investment and the development of public-private partnerships will be crucial. Energy is one sector where such projects can succeed. We also look forward to your support and expertise to better implement these projects,” added Serhiy Sukhomlyn.

👤 Antti Vänskä, Special Envoy, Reconstruction of Ukraine, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, confirmed Finland's commitment to participating in reconstruction projects in Ukraine.

The focus includes education, healthcare, construction, energy, and consulting. He assured that Finland is prepared to offer its resources to help Ukraine rebuild various war-damaged facilities.

📝 Mr. Vänskä spoke about Finland’s national plan for Ukraine’s recovery introduced last year: “This plan includes tools designed to allow Finnish companies to participate in Ukraine's future reconstruction.”

He noted that the Finnish Government is currently developing the second part of the national plan, which will be less focused on business and more oriented toward other issues.

🗨️ “Our support in Ukraine’s EU membership negotiations is an essential part of this plan. We see Ukraine as part of the EU, as it is already engaging in various EU sectors, and we are ready to facilitate this process,” added Antti Vänskä.

Representatives of Finnish businesses expressed their willingness to work and invest in Ukraine.

👤 Jyrki Rautamäki, Senior Consultant at NEFCO, the largest investment bank with over 20 years of experience in the Ukrainian market, introduced the company's work and key initiatives in Ukraine: 

✔️ “Green Reconstruction” program for Ukraine 

✔️ construction following the “Build Back Better” principle 

✔️ building housing for over 700 internally displaced persons in Lviv 

✔️ major renovation of a hospital in Nemishayeve 

✔️ construction of an educational facility with near-zero energy consumption in Mykolaiv.

☑️ The activities of other Finnish funds were also presented, including Finnvera's operations in Ukraine, the business financing process by Finnfund, and grant opportunities from Finnpartnership for Ukrainian businesses.

🤝 Special thanks to our colleagues at Business Finland for organizing this event. We are confident that this meeting will lead to productive partnerships that will support the quality reconstruction of Ukraine.

WE WILL WIN AND REBUILD EVERYTHING! 💪

TOGETHER TO VICTORY! 

GLORY TO UKRAINE! 💙💛