Oleksandr Romaniuk: An analysis of 50 government contracts is necessary to assess the economy and the feasibility of the technical specifications

This was stated by Oleksandr Romaniuk, UDS Director of Economics, during his speech at the two-day conference on innovation in demining activities, “GICHD INNOVATION.”

It is worth reminding that in 2024, 50 tenders were held as part of the state program for landmine clearance compensation.

"The cost of demining in the contracts concluded under the state program averaged 0.15 USD per square meter, while international operators work at rates of around 3-5 USD per square meter. This was the first experience of state procurement in humanitarian demining in Ukraine, and an analysis of the signed contracts is needed from both an economic perspective and in terms of whether the technical specifications align with the actual level of contamination of the areas to be cleared," emphasized Oleksandr Romaniuk, Director of Economics at UDS.

The “GICHD INNOVATION” conference was attended by over 150 representatives from various companies and organizations in the demining sector. The meeting addressed issues related to improving the efficiency of the "Land Lease" clearance process in Ukraine and ways to improve the innovation implementation system in demining activities.

Additionally, technical solutions in the field of humanitarian demining were presented, such as the use of drones for gathering information on sub-surface hazards and further processing using AI, as well as mechanized demining systems. During thematic working sessions, key needs and challenges in demining activities in Ukraine were discussed, including the need to simplify the implementation of new technologies and financing demining activities.

"The current approach to determining demining costs leads to the financial losses of operators and threatens the survival of the demining market. Any technology without experts is incapable of restoring war-contaminated lands," stated Oleksandr Romaniuk, Director of Economics at UDS.

Out of 74 operators, only 14 participated in the announced tenders. Almost the entire volume of work, as a result of the tender procedures, was allocated to 4 participants. Due to the mismatch between the technical specifications in the procurement and the actual level of land contamination, as well as the initially set undervalued expected (initial) cost of services, the execution of the concluded contracts has been unprofitable for operators.

According to Oleksandr Romaniuk, the situation can be corrected by changing the approach to determining the cost of demining, with methodological support from international partners such as GICHD.