Urgent problems in the policy of modernization of the transport infrastructure in Ukraine

Policy of modernization is conducted based on high level documents (state strategic programs, plans and public messages). And, in the course of transport modernization, preference is given to the development of comprehensive long term transport strategies. The experience of foreign countries shows that such documents have a strict hierarchy of objectives, priorities, tasks, indicators and measures with a clear system for monitoring and corresponding institutions responsible for their fulfilment. The article provides an analysis of Ukraine's Transport Strategy and various medium-term documents on whose basis the modernization of transport in Ukraine is taking place, as well as a monitoring of the completion of the main medium-term tasks as to the transport modernization for 2010-2014, among which are: approval of the infrastructural projects of national scale, ensuring their funding from the government, as well as the World Bank, EBRD, and other donors and private investors; raising the budget funding for modernization programs and the development of the facilities of the transport infrastructure by 10% annually; and expanding the funding sources of the Road Fund. The result is the author's proposals concerning the revision of Ukraine's Transport Strategy until 2020 with its prolongation until 2030 (as regards the formulation of the transport's missions, long- and medium-term objectives, priorities, tasks, indicators and measures of national transport policy, its adjustment and reconciliation with other sectoral strategies and documents of national level. Also necessary is the transition from the financing model with prevailing foreign crediting to one with mixed crediting of the transport and its infrastructure (relying on domestic crediting), for which purpose it is necessary to diversify the sources of investment resources. It is necessary to carry out the declared policy of import substitution in order to change the rolling stock of foreign make for domestically produced items meeting the international technological and economic requirements. Due to the restricted funding of the national road facilities, it is necessary to revive the activities of the state-owned Road Fund with a clear definition of its sources and optimized expenditures.