Rebuilding Mariupol may take about 20 years, says mayor

Ruined Mariupol
Ruined Mariupol

“The ... revival of a half-million-strong city that we saw and imagined, a modern, European, Ukrainian city that we built for seven years, (and which was) 50% destroyed in two months of full-scale aggression by Russia, will take 20 years,” he said.

“If we’re talking about critical restoration, critical infrastructure, stabilization of the situation, restoration of all communal spheres and areas, it will cost UAH 14 billion ($382.8 million).”

Read also: How Russia is blasting Mariupol into the past

Boychenko noted that Mariupol City Hall is already developing a plan of priority steps after the liberation of Mariupol from Russian invaders.

“We’re not (delaying) any such decisions (ahead of) liberation,” the official said.

“Since last September, together with our regional team and the Mariupol municipality, we’ve been working to answer the main question – how quickly we can return to the city of Mariupol, what we have to do in the first three months, half a year, 12 and 18 months in terms of stabilizing the situation – the work of the communal sector, all functional areas, education, healthcare.”

Read also: "A year is like a day, like Groundhog Day." The mayor of Mariupol about the first days of the Russian invasion, the support of the people

“We already have clear answers and we presented them at ReBuild Ukraine (platform) in Warsaw in February, (where we) presented our model for the rapid recovery of Mariupol.”

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine