Saudi Arabia is ready to invest up to $1 billion in irrigation projects in Ukraine, Agrarian Policy and Food Minister Oleksiy Pavlenko told journalists in Kyiv on Feb. 2.
We had talks, for example, with companies from Saudi Arabia that are ready to invest up to $1 billion in irrigation systems. As the head of the intergovernmental commission on Saudi Arabia, I will raise this issue,” he said.
Ukraine needs to settle on plans for irrigation projects and on certain legal issues. “Some of the irrigation system belongs to the state, some is owned communally and some is in the private sector. There needs to be a determination concerning first of all what form of ownership should be invested in,” he said.
Implementation of investment projects in irrigation is being discussed with the World Bank, which is ready to participate in the projects on a co-financing basis, he said.
Investment in irrigation was also discussed with Chinese partners during the second phase of lending totaling $1.5 billion.
Overhaul of the irrigation system could raise growing efficiency 50%-100% in drought prone areas, according to ministry calculations.
