On 25 February, the Swedish-Ukrainian Programme Polaris held a practical webinar, “EU Experience in Preparing Feasibility Studies and Cost-Benefit Analyses for Municipal Infrastructure Projects,” dedicated to developing key documents required to attract financing from EU funds and international financial institutions.
The event aimed to help Ukrainian municipalities improve the quality of their investment projects, align their approaches with European requirements, and strengthen their readiness to use blended financing during the recovery period.
The speakers included:
Rafal Stanek – Polaris expert and engineer with more than 30 years of experience in financial analysis, feasibility studies, cost-benefit analysis, and investment project development in Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Croatia, Bulgaria, Albania, and other countries.
David Toft – guest expert and economist with more than 25 years of experience in financial analysis of public enterprises, feasibility studies, cost-benefit analysis, and investment project development in Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Turkey, Egypt, Kenya, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other countries.
The webinar brought together representatives of local self-government bodies, specialists from municipal enterprises and institutions, as well as civil society organizations involved in preparing local development projects. Participants received an overview of the European Structural and Investment Funds, including the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF), and learned about EU requirements for preparing investment projects in the fields of water supply, wastewater management, waste, energy efficiency, and transport.
Participants gained a comprehensive understanding of how EU municipalities prepare feasibility studies, exploring methodologies used in Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and other countries. They strengthened their skills in developing investment projects — from building financial models and analyzing cash flows to defining the “without-project” scenario and calculating NPV and IRR. Through real case studies, they saw how successful medium-sized, large, and small infrastructure projects are assessed by the EU and learned how to adapt Ukrainian practices to European standards.
Special attention was given to blended financing: participants explored how to justify project sustainability, forecast demand, assess tariff affordability, and calculate the funding gap, as well as how to apply this knowledge when working with European Structural and Investment Funds.
Financial analysis, feasibility studies, and cost-benefit analysis remain highly relevant for specialists working on project development at the local level. Responding to the needs of communities, the Programme will continue strengthening the capacity of Ukrainian municipalities in this area.
