Ukraine mobilized nearly $200 million under Japan guarantees through the World Bank’s SURGE project to strengthen fiscal governance

In December, Ukraine received USD 196.3 million in concessional financing from the World Bank under guarantees provided by the Government of Japan through the ADVANCE Ukraine trust fund. The funds were mobilized under the SURGE project — “Supporting Reconstruction through Smart Fiscal Governance.”

The financing was credited to the general fund of the State Budget of Ukraine and is aimed at strengthening the resilience of public finances.

The SURGE project has been implemented in Ukraine since late 2024. To date, the World Bank has signed agreements with Ukraine totaling over USD 1 billion under the program, including USD 10 million in grant financing to support the effective implementation of institutional reforms.

The project is implemented using the Program-for-Results (PforR) financing instrument, under which disbursements are directly linked to the achievement of specific reform results. Each tranche confirms the fulfillment of agreed performance indicators.

To receive the latest tranche, Ukraine met a number of key conditions, including:

• more than 300 municipalities received additional grants following the introduction of updated criteria and procedures for resource allocation;
• at least 400 municipalities integrated gender-related information into their medium-term budget plans and published the relevant documents, enhancing budget transparency and reducing corruption risks;
• at least 50 civil servants from central executive authorities were trained in public investment management under new procedures, including the integration of climate considerations into decision-making;
• State Tax Service adopted administrative acts for approving methodological documents as part of a pilot project on tax risk management.

“The SURGE project is an important instrument for strengthening Ukraine’s institutional capacity and financial resilience amid the war. Over more than a year of implementation, more than USD 876 million has already been credited to the State Budget, making a tangible contribution to public finance stability. Such support from donors and the World Bank enables the implementation of systemic reforms and ensures effective public investment management, which is the foundation for recovery and sustainable development,” said Ukraine’s Minister of Finance Sergii Marchenko.

The project’s objective is to support the Government of Ukraine in establishing a modern public investment management system during the war and throughout post-war recovery. It covers improvements in fiscal governance at the local level, the development of medium-term and program-based budgeting in municipalities, enhanced revenue administration, and the integration of gender and climate approaches into the country’s financial policy.