Today the Mayor of Mariupol Vadym Boichenko has taken part in the forum "Ukraine-30. Decentralization". They discussed the opportunities it opens up for communities at the meeting. Vadym Boichenko noted that decentralization helped to reset Mariupol and attract the attention of international investors to the city.
‘2015. Fighting in the region, devastation and alarm. It was difficult for Mariupol to talk about development and investment at that time. The “Norman format” of negotiations allowed to move the line of contact by 20 km. The President of Ukraine and I held an investment forum in Mariupol in 2019. Then we opened our city for investors,’ Vadym Boichenko said.
This was accompanied by a large amount of work. The city was governed by three rules, which the President of Ukraine called “Mariupol effect”. The Mayor told about it during the event. The first is the existence of a long-term development strategy. The second is effective budget management. The third is the transparency of all processes.
‘Decentralization is not only about money, but also about the opportunities we can use today. It is very important to transform these opportunities into openness and transparency of all processes. This is the key to attracting large investments. Due to this approach, Mariupol has attracted EUR 200 million in development. There is modern municipal transport in the city, a water purification plant, new outdoor lighting and other projects that will improve the quality of people's lives,’ Vadym Boichenko shared.
According to the Mayor, the city is not going to stop there and plans to continue the “Mariupol effect”. The implementation of the program of the President of Ukraine “Big Construction” helps in this. Due to it, objects of education, medicine, sports and culture will get a second life in Mariupol. This approach has a positive effect on the attitude of residents to the country.
In addition, Mariupol continues to work to open our city and Ukraine to international investors. This will be facilitated by the construction of a new airport on the border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia region. The President's support will help Mariupol to create a medical hub that will provide residents with a quality service of European level.
The construction of a concrete road will make the economy stronger. It will provide new opportunities for the development of the seaport and city-forming enterprises. Thus, the port will increase cargo handling, increase national GDP and create 1,500 jobs. According to the Mayor, this will start the economy of the entire Donetsk region.
Positive changes in Mariupol attract private investment. The result is the city's first private university “Metinvest Polytechnic” that will be opened in the city.
‘Mariupol has a special geographical location on the shores of the world's warmest Sea of Azov. With the support of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, we are opening the Azov region for tourism. Today we are reconstructing the coastline and we have attracted the best specialists from France and Georgia. They will help us to open the tourist city of Mariupol for the whole of Ukraine,’ Vadym Boichenko emphasized.