Kyiv, Ukraine — Addressing the nation during the celebration of the 21st Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, President Viktor Yanukovych singled out a number of positive developments over the past year. They include infrastructural adjustments, conducted to accommodate EURO 2012, further deregulation of the state economy, as well as advances in the ongoing medical reform.

European football championship 2012 became the first major sports event Ukraine hosted in the 21 years of its independence. EURO 2012 attracted nearly 400,000 tourists to Ukraine, estimated the experts of the Ukrainian Youth Tourist Association. The foreign guests were able to visit the renewed stadiums in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Lviv, use upgraded airports, 3,455 kilometers of new or renewed roads, 1,700 kilometers of railroads, and 902 new vehicles of public transport across the country, as well as stay at 290 renovated and newly opened hotels.

In preparation for EURO 2012, Ukraine renovated airports in all host cities, increasing their channel capacity, improving the runway and infrastructure. In May 2012, Ukraine expanded its main air gateway – Boryspil airport, allowing it to service up to 15 million visitors per year.

Additionally, Ukrainian government reported on achievements in economy deregulation and reduction of administrative impact on business. Ukraine cut the total number of state taxes in half. Corporate income tax was reduced from 25 to 21 percent. In 2014, it will go down to 16 percent.

Moreover, starting January 2013, enterprises producing software are exempt from paying value added tax (currently – VAT is 20 percent) on software supply operations. Since January 2013, the corporate tax for IT companies will be reduced from 21 percent to five percent. Ukraine also offers tax incentives to green energy companies, including corporate tax exemption on sales for 10 years starting January 1, 2011.

Another important step for Ukraine is medical reform. It will introduce five-stage medical assistance in Ukraine, featuring first aid, followed by primary, secondary, and tertiary aid, as well as palliative care. At the moment the reform was introduced in four pilot regions. So far, the Ukrainian government opened 21 new and renewed hospitals. Furthermore, Ukraine launched six state of the art perinatal centers under the National Project “New Life.”

Image Courtesy of   Kiev.Victor / Shutterstock.com

The article Ukraine Celebrates 21th Independence Anniversary with Reforms appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

“In the next three and a half years, essentially, a completely new tourist city will emerge near Yevpatoria,” stated the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Borys Kolesnikov after the conference Inside Ukraine, organized by The Economist in London. The minister said that the development will ensue within the national program to modernize the Crimean peninsula into an attractive tourist destination.

Minister Kolesnikov explained that a new tourist city would be built from scratch on the Crimean peninsula. It will offer hotel accommodation for thousands of visitors along with vast opportunities for investment in the development of infrastructure. Additionally, the plan to develop Crimea stipulates for two new airports to be built in the central and southern parts of the peninsula.

The move is growing in popularity in various countries of the world. In Saudi Arabia six so-called “economic cities” are being built across the country. The aim of the project is to create over a million new job opportunities and provide homes for 4-5 million residents. The project is set to contribute USD 150 billion to the GDP of Saudi Arabia by 2020.

This year the government of Honduras introduced one of the most revolutionary concepts of new cities. The major advantage of the emerging city will be a charter of legally binding rules regulating the life in the area. One of the better governed countries of the world will be asked to guarantee the charter.

Crimea is an autonomous republic of Ukraine located in the south of the country. Its geographical location makes the peninsula the most favorable for recreation region of Ukraine. Crimea is surrounded by the Black Sea and borders on the Sea of Azov. The mildly salty waters of the Black Sea, perfectly warm in summer, attract millions of tourists to the sunny beaches of the southern Crimean coast annually.

As of now, the Crimean tourist infrastructure and the quality of services provided has hardly reached its potential. This serves as an incentive for the Ukrainian government to invest in the development of the region, as well as provides an attraction for foreign investors who have a chance to capitalize on the emerging tourist market with high potential.

The article Building a Modern Ukrainian Tourist City appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.