UDS proposes a model of compensation for demining costs, which will stimulate the development of the industry and support the Ukrainian economy

What should be the scheme of compensation by the Government for the costs of humanitarian demining of agricultural land, taking into account the needs of mine action operators in Ukraine?

Deputy General Director of UDS Volodymyr Beshley:

"The optimal model is to compensate mine action operators for the actual costs incurred for demining, as they can be easily verified. Only expenses incurred by the SOP should be accepted, because they are approved at the state level.

It is also necessary to fix the rate of return, which would allow demining operators to invest in business development. The optimal profit should ideally be 25%, which is similar to the arms market. In the European Union, for example, in Croatia, the approximate cost of manual demining is 4-5 dollars/sq.m, the cost of mechanized demining is 0.9-1.2 dollars/sq.m. Ukrainian operators, even taking into account the profit of 25%, can perform work cheaper: manual demining at $3/sq.m and mechanized demining at the level of $0.5/sq.m. This approach not only stimulates the development of the mine action industry, but also supports Ukrainian operators and, as a result, the domestic economy, because taxes will be paid to the state budget."