You're reading: Kyiv City Council gives two hectares downtown Kyiv to build helipad for president

Kyiv City Council has allocated a 2.18-hectare land plot to Amadeus Co. Ltd. for the construction of engineering and transport infrastructure on the Parkova Aleya (Park Alley) in Kyiv's Pechersk district.

A total of 72 council deputies voted for the decision at a meeting on Tuesday.

In keeping with the decision, the land plot was excluded from the list of landscaped areas and included in a list of land plots for transport facilities.

The land plot was leased out for 25 years, its estimated value is UAH 67.5 million, and the rent was fixed at UAH 2.026 million per year.

"As far as I understand this will be an ill-fated helicopter landing pad with the help of which our president has decided to address traffic jams," said Kyiv City Council deputy Andriy Strannikov from the Bloc of Vitaliy Klychko.

As reported, a 0.7-hectare land plot was to be allocated to the state-run Ukraina enterprise.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych earlier announced plans to give up transportation by car from his residence in Mezhyhirya (Vyshgorod district in Kyiv region) to the Presidential Administration and back. Instead, he is planning to use a helicopter.

Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Administration Serhiy Liovochkin said in late October 2010 Yanukovych would get to work by helicopter in the coming months.

"Early this year, he [Yanukovych] gave an order to find the best solution as to how to reduce the problem [of traffic jams] for Kyiv drivers. As a solution we see the possibility of using a helicopter. We are currently working on this problem… I think that [this project will be implemented] in the coming months," Liovochkin said in an interview with the Segodnia daily newspaper.