INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AS A STRUCTURAL REFORM IN UKRAINE: INVESTMENT ASPECTS, INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND AUDIT

Abstract

It is substantiated that one of the most important prerequisites for inclusive and sustainable economic development is the implementation of structural reforms. In turn, one of the most important structural reforms is the development of both hard infrastructure (including transport, energy) and soft infrastructure (including education, information and communication technologies, a network of investment promotion agencies, etc.). Infrastructural aspects are one of the key in decision-making by investors, and attracting investment is one of the most important factors in Ukraine's entry into a new qualitative level of economic growth, which determines the authors' attention to the investment component. The current range of necessary reforms is characterized by a focus on inclusive and sustainable development, i.e. progress in ensuring the well-being of the general population. Against the background of the general low quality of both hard and soft infrastructure facilities, infrastructure disparities are revealed, which relate, first of all, to the inconsistency of placement of most companies of medium and high-tech sectors created in Ukraine in recent years in the western part of the country, which is happening due to Ukraine’s ongoing integration into the European economic area, and educational and energy infrastructures, historically concentrated in the east of the country. It is emphasized that there are gaps in the work of both investment promotion agencies and public authorities, which inhibit the inflow of investment. Among them are: low level of communication between investors and potential suppliers; ignorance of investors about the labor market; almost complete absence of a dual education system in Ukraine. The necessity of developing and formulating the main tasks of the “road map” is justified for building industrial potential and infrastructure to increase the competitiveness of the regions of Ukraine on the basis of their audit, weaknesses and obstacles in attracting investment are identified.