The Kyiv City Council is returning Kyivvodokanal to the city’s management, arguing that the important critical infrastructure enterprise is operating at the limit of its capabilities. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the the draft decision №1139.
The authors of the draft explain that the wording of the decision document provides for the deferral of payments for the use of municipal property transferred into possession and use under the Agreement for the Ownership and Use of Property of the Territorial Community of Kyiv for 2019-2024.
The adoption of the draft decision is due to the peculiarities of the operation of Kyivvodokanal under martial law and the need to use available working capital to finance the Company’s top priority expenses as a critical infrastructure facility.
“The Company, as a critical infrastructure operator, is taking all possible measures under martial law to ensure the stable operation of critical infrastructure facilities that ensure the vital activity of the city of Kyiv and some settlements of Kyiv region (uninterrupted provision of centralised water supply and centralised sewerage services). The dynamics of the financial and economic performance of PJSC Kyivvodokanal during 2021 – Q1 2024 is deteriorating every year,” the draft decision says.
This situation is explained by the Kyiv City Council by an acute shortage of working capital to continue the Company’s operation in a stable mode, as the main source of covering the costs of centralised water supply and centralised sewerage services is the funds received from the sale of these services at the established tariffs.
That is why Kyiv City Council members voted to terminate the contract, according to which 75% of Kyivvodokanal is in private hands, while only 25% belongs to the city. According to the draft decision, Kyivvodokanal’s debt of almost UAH 60 million must be paid within 3 months after the end of martial law. Currently, the company does not have enough money to pay for electricity, gas and heat, which complicates its work and prevents it from carrying out repairs or modernising the system. To avoid crisis situations in the context of the military conflict, the city needs to regain control of the water supply system.