BUILDING BRIDGES : UK UKRAINE FORUM ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND RECONSTRUCTION RZESZOW

UBBC attended the building bridges conference in Rzezow to learn of the opportunities for collaborating with Polish and Ukrainian companies. The forum’s key objective is to bring together British, Polish and Ukrainian companies to collaborate in the reconstruction of Ukraine, in the short and longer term. The British Embassy convened the event with Polish – British chambers of commerce, the Polish development agency, and Polish Gov for Ukraine.

Attendees included a wide range of consultancies and construction companies already working in Poland and Ukraine in infrastructure and energy sectors, from both UK and Poland. The mayor or Rzezow explained that his city is the key forwarding location for goods into Western Ukraine and accounts for around 40% of the trade and traffic into Ukraine. There are strategic high tech industries, like Fibrain optic fibre manufacturers’ ( which we visited) in Rzezow, as well as Rolls Royce. The British Ambassador, Melinda Simmons, said ‘unity is a powerful tool’ and Poland is indispensable in the reconstruction of Ukraine, for its location, as home to 1.5m Ukrainians, and as a strategic partner for reconstruction and the practical necessity of transporting and planning projects  from Poland into Ukraine, with the opportunity to learn from each other, including different investment models for reconstruction driven by the private sector. She looks forward to the coming reconstruction conference in Gdansk in June with over 4000 attendees, and a planning forum on 27^th April. This is an investment in European security, international shared values and Ukraine reconstruction through  UK Polish allied collaboration.

A Ukrainian embassy speaker said that the reconstruction orf Ukraine will be the largest opportunity for investment in Europe’s infrastructure project for the next decade, and the need extends to sectors of energy, housing, upgrades to EU standards, and the building of a modern economy, The British Polish chamber of commerce informed us that they have 240 member companies of which 33% are multi nationals like BP, Kingfisher, HSBC, CMS, GSK,PWC, INPOST, Castorama as well as specialist expert hubs for consultancy, tax, legal, who can quickly enable companies to plan for work in Ukraine. The Polish regional development office said there are funds available for green energy, special incentives and tax breaks for business parks and those setting up new businesses in Poland and Ukraine, and UKEF has supported investment risk for bridges and wind farms of £450m in Ukraine. Ukraine extends direct support to businesses in the areas of agricultural processing and machinery, publishing, drones, storage , IT and manufacturing with capital grants of up to 25%. New projects can be accessed through the Public investment portal (PIP) via the DIIA portal and dream city digital ecosystem portal by 2028, which will add visibility and transparency to all bids. The Polish development agency is also creating a one stop shop to access all things Ukraine, from trade support, investment to insurance and funds, advice to  JV’s and working with Polish companies. There is a pilot fund of E60m for such projects. The IFC have invested  $3bn in Ukraine and estimate at least $500bn required for reconstruction, including for  $70bn in clean energy and distributed grid, BP discussed the opportunity for gas and wind power in the Baltic, and Cundall of their innovations in building insulated housing fast and effectively and work in evolving airport design and construction.

The overall message is ‘collaborate as allies and prepare for the reconstruction, as the opportunities will be significant. British companies working with Polish companies will find it significantly easier to win contracts and practically deliver business into Ukraine via Poland and Rzezow in particular.