From: New Voice of Ukraine 🇺🇦
The contamination of large swathes of Ukrainian territory with landminesand unexploded ordnance has shrunk the national economy by $11.2 billion, driven by reduced agricultural export revenues and corresponding tax income, Ukraine’s Economy Ministry announced on Sept. 11.
The ministry cited research from the Tony Blair Institute.
According to the study, Ukraine’s Chernihiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv oblasts have lost over 20% of their GDP due to mine contamination. Local authorities are missing out on more than $1.1 billion in local tax revenue.
Ukraine’s Economy Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, told philanthropist Howard Buffett about a government compensation program for farmers who pay for minesweeping services on their arable land.
“Currently, there are 10 auctions announced on the Prozorro platform for the procurement of demining services for agricultural land,” said Svyrydenko.
“The total area of land planned for demining exceeds 9,100 acres. We expect that within the next two weeks, the auctions will be successfully completed, and the first contracts with demining operators will be signed.”
Voice of Ukraine 