When and how will toll roads be introduced in Ukraine?

According to a recent survey by the European Business Association, 82% of Ukrainian companies are supportive of the idea of introducing toll roads in the country. The expectation is that toll roads will be of better quality and provide more convenient routes than free ones.

Specifically, 76% of companies back the concept of toll roads if their quality is improved. 31% of surveyed businesses believe that tolls should only apply to trucks weighing 12 tons or more. Meanwhile, 22% anticipate that toll roads will generally increase funding for infrastructure repairs and construction, leading to an overall enhancement of Ukraine's road system.

“Currently, Ukraine lacks the financial resources even to maintain the existing road network in proper technical condition,” says Anna Minyukova, a transportation engineer and infrastructure expert. “Attracting private investments is one way to implement new road and bridge construction projects. Building toll roads will reduce travel time and ensure road safety in line with standards.”

“Sooner or later, toll roads will be implemented,” recently stated Sergey Derkach, Deputy Minister of Community Development and Territories. In his view, Ukraine needs to decide on the model for toll roads—whether only truck drivers will pay for their use or all users. Additionally, it is necessary to establish the pricing logic for such services and the payment system, which may require additional legislation.

Movement Begins After Ten Years of Reflection

Ukraine first came close to implementing toll roads in 2015 when the Cabinet of Ministers approved the conditions for a tender to build and operate a toll road from Lviv to Krakovets to enhance transport connectivity with Poland and, consequently, the European Union.

However, this road was never constructed, partly due to frequent personnel changes in the Ministry of Infrastructure and fluctuating priorities. But now, it seems that there are no other options for large-scale funding for the road system.

Before the large-scale war in 2022, Ukraine had 170,000 kilometers of roads, of which 47,000 km are international, national, or regional highways. The state agency “Ukravtodor” is responsible for their condition. According to its calculations, the Ukrainian road system requires $6 billion annually (approximately 248 billion hryvnias at the current exchange rate) for repairs, improvements, and construction.

Even during the infrastructure program “Great Construction,” such amounts for roads were insufficient. For instance, in the relatively prosperous year of 2021 for the state budget, only 89 billion hryvnias were allocated for road and bridge repairs and construction, which is just over $3 billion at that time's exchange rate.

With the onset of war, funding for infrastructure programs has worsened. Funds from the road fund for 2024, amounting to 94.7 billion hryvnias, have been redirected for defense needs. The 2025 state budget allocates 43.2 billion hryvnias for road-related needs, but 24.4 billion will go towards debt servicing—primarily for “Ukravtodor.”

In 2024, the Cabinet introduced “Ukravtodor's” debt obligations (700 million dollars with interest on eurobonds) into the state debt perimeter, as it cannot currently settle with creditors.

Only the public investment portfolio—the government program for post-war recovery of the Ukrainian economy—envisions attracting 248 billion hryvnias for restoring the transport system. Under current conditions, the state budget can finance only about 10% of this program annually.

“The advantages of introducing toll roads in Ukraine lie in the fact that this is almost the only way to attract private funds for the development and maintenance of road infrastructure. The budget has been insufficient even before the war. During the war, it is simply nonexistent,” notes Dmitry Bespalov, an expert in transport modeling and director of the consultancy “Bespalov Lab.” “It is overly presumptuous to expect taxpayers in other countries to share resources with us. Toll roads are one of the most obvious mechanisms for returning investments. Without investments, there will be no roads.”

Where and When the First Toll Roads Will Appear

Initially, it is planned to make tolls applicable on six sections of roads, as noted by the Ministry of Community Development. This involves parts of roads with a total length of approximately 1,400 kilometers: the stretch from Boryspil to Poltava, the segment from Kyiv to Rivne, the route from Dnipro to Kryvyi Rih and Mykolaiv, the route Yagodyn—Kovel—Lutsk, the route Kharkiv—Dnipro—Zaporizhzhia, and the stretch of road from Kherson to Mykolaiv.

In 2020-2021, the government already developed a preliminary technical and economic justification for these six segments to create a pilot project. Currently, they are analyzing traffic intensity on these routes.

“For the economic viability of a toll road, there needs to be at least 20,000 vehicles per day,” explains Viktor Dovhan, former Deputy Minister of Infrastructure. “In reality, we don’t have many such segments.”

Sergey Derkach, Deputy Minister of Community Development, highlights that the introduction of toll roads in Ukraine is welcomed in the European Union, where such roads have long existed, and the EU traditionally supports equal playing fields among member states. Therefore, if Ukraine joins the EU, the rules of the game in the country’s transport market must fairly align with EU realities.

The Ministry of Community Development has already developed a draft law to regulate the operation of toll roads in Ukraine and has begun negotiations with potential investors willing to finance the necessary preparatory work for this project—where repairs are needed and where construction from scratch is required. In particular, they are negotiating with the European Investment Bank, one of the largest creditors of infrastructure projects in Europe.

International financial organizations—such as the European Investment Bank, World Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development—would be eager to invest in toll road projects in Ukraine, believes Viktor Dovhan, the former Deputy Minister of Infrastructure.

“This will be structured as a loan under state guarantees, which is optimal for them because it provides an additional source of repayment,” he states. “We just need to start with a small pilot project, as was done with the concessions for seaports.”

Regarding the cost of using toll roads, in December 2020, the Cabinet established the maximum rates for such fees. For motorcycles, cars, minibuses, and trucks weighing up to 3.5 tons, the maximum tariff is €0.023 per kilometer (1 hryvnia per kilometer). For trucks between 3.5 to 12 tons and buses, it is €0.045 (2 hryvnias). For trucks over 12 tons, large buses, and road trains, the rate is €0.133 (5.84 hryvnias).

“The toll for using toll roads or sections for private vehicles will be determined by the operator [this could be “Ukravtodor,” a regional administration, or another entity that owns the road]. It is quite possible that, considering transport demand, it will not exceed the maximum set by the Cabinet’s resolution, nor be less than what is necessary to recover investments,” says Dmitry Bespalov, an expert in transport modeling.

For comparison, in Poland, the following tariffs apply on toll roads: for cars and vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tons—€0.021 (9.2 UAH) per kilometer, and for trucks, depending on size and carbon emissions, from €0.18 (7.88 UAH) per kilometer to €0.67 (29.3 UAH). Poland has different tariff plans, allowing payment based on distance traveled or purchasing the right to use an entire section of the road.

“For freight transport, toll roads could technically be implemented as early as tomorrow, as it does not seem complicated from a technical and legal standpoint,” comments Dmitry Bespalov, an expert in transport modeling. “Especially if done through vignettes [essentially a toll ticket for vehicles] or RFID tags [a payment system for using toll roads based on geolocation].”

“However, this may be a difficult political decision due to its impact on the market and prices,” he adds. “I fear that it will be challenging for authorities to make this decision, yet it is unclear how else to minimally maintain roads considering that the road fund is currently directed towards defense. For private vehicles, I fear that the prospect of toll sections or entire roads is at least 5-10 years away.”

What Model of Toll Roads is Suitable for Ukraine

The question of which model of toll roads is needed in Ukraine remains a topic of discussion. The Ministry of Community Development is currently working on creating such a model. However, according to current concession legislation, a toll