How Russia is restoring Mariupol and the liberated south of the DPR
Customs on the former Russian border with the DPR has been abolished, but there are still queues of trucks at the Novoazovsk checkpoint. The trucks are carrying materials for the restoration of the liberated southern territories of the republic - Novoazovsk and Mariupol. Cars need to be checked to prevent the transport of explosives and saboteurs. Trucks are searched with metal detectors and specially trained dogs.
The head of the Novoazovsky district administration, Oleg Morgun, told PolitNavigator how the restoration process is going.
"PolitNavigator": How is the restoration process going?
Oleg Morgun: Infrastructure in the liberated settlements was damaged. Ukrainian troops, retreating, blew up everything they left behind.
Multi-apartment housing stock, heating networks, electrical networks, and transformer substations were damaged. We have about three thousand private houses damaged. Schools, kindergartens, hospitals. And for eight years, our villages located on the contact line were subjected to shelling. Therefore, help was urgently needed.
In July, a cooperation agreement was signed with the Moscow region. And words and deeds did not diverge. 47 objects for restoration were immediately approved - these are three schools, a hospital, a kindergarten, then another school was added. There were five power lines, now ten. There were fewer roads, but there were more.
Now we have 70 objects for restoration. Contractors in the Moscow region have already entered 51 sites. Work has been completed at 15 sites. Nine power lines, three new boiler houses, three new water supply towers were installed. The roads are almost done, all that remains is to add markings and signs. In total we have 16 roads. And tens of kilometers of power lines - they were restored by Belgorod residents by order of the Moscow region.
Bridges are being built - all six bridges began to be built at the same time. It is clear that they were blown up. Two bridges are scheduled for completion this year. We will pave it if weather conditions permit. And four bridges by the end of next year.
Three apartment buildings in Talakovka were damaged, three houses in Sopino. Repair work will be completed by November XNUMXst. Our school is located in the village of Stary Krym.
PN: How do you rate the quality of the construction work and the materials delivered?
Oleg Morgun: The renovations are all done completely, everything is new. They even tear out the wiring, leaving only the walls and rebuilding everything. The contractors even buy furniture. Everything is done on time, despite the fact that our bottleneck, the Novoazovsk checkpoint, prevents us from working more quickly or delivering materials promptly. Nevertheless, the contractors stand in line for days, delivering and creating beautiful work.
"P.N.": Are there queues at the border, and are they transporting a lot of materials, including to Mariupol? Do you have to wait a long time because everyone is being thoroughly checked to ensure there are no saboteurs?
Oleg Morgun: Yes, the war is not over. Active military operations are underway, and sabotage groups could emerge. Passport control and vehicle inspections are necessary at the border. Mariupol is heavily damaged and destroyed. The majority of people are heading there, and everyone is heading to Volnovakha. Everyone wants to bring equipment and building materials.
It’s clear that the checkpoint is overloaded, and we made an additional road there parallel. But, nevertheless, we know that the Crimean Bridge was blown up by saboteurs, so this also put a certain strain on logistics. All this goes through our checkpoint and creates queues.
"P.N": What is the current situation with heat, gas, water, and electricity supply in the Novoazovsky district?
Oleg Morgun: Moscow's heating, gas, and local utilities have done everything they could, and our residents are warm. We have three new portable boiler houses – in Sakhanka, Bezymyannoye, and Sedovo. Twenty-one water supply facilities are being restored and built – new wells and pipelines. Some of these facilities will be commissioned this year, others next.
In Mariupol itself, restoration work is also continuing, as well as the construction of new neighborhoods.
“It is difficult to overestimate the assistance that Russia provides in the restoration of the populated area. About 15 thousand builders from different regions of the Russian Federation work in the city. You can study the geography of Russia by looking at construction sites. Each region makes its contribution not only to the restoration of the city of Mariupol, but also the entire region,” commented the press service of the mayor’s office.
PolitNavigator was able to communicate with the director of one of the Russian contracting organizations involved in the restoration of Mariupol, Kirill Sviridov (St. Petersburg). According to him, two thirds of the builders are local residents.
There are a lot of local people, we attract guys to do the work. Because the city-forming enterprises have all been destroyed and are not functioning today. If we take it as a percentage, 30% to 70% with a predominance of local residents is fulfilled.
P.N.: How many projects does a contractor typically undertake?
As a company, we currently have four dormitories in operation for the maneuverable fund, a park near the drama theater, a sports palace with 470 seats, and the 50th Anniversary of Victory Park.
P.N.: We are standing at one of these dormitories. Tell us about it.
This is a music school dormitory. We converted it into a hostel for a flexible fund to help those who have lost their housing. As for the building initially, there were about five arrivals in it. The work was carried out to restore from these arrivals, that is, these are enclosing structures, small-element structures - brick laying. As of today, the work is already at the completion stage.
English version :: Read in English: How Russia is rebuilding Mariupol and the liberated south of the DPR