Our road is a symbol of our changes - President took part in the opening of the newly built road bypassing the city of Reni and the repaired M15 road

President Petro Poroshenko took part in the opening of the newly built road bypassing the city of Reni and the repaired M15 Odesa-Reni road.

The Head of State stressed: "For many years, they promised to build the road - in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, but did nothing ... Today, we are finishing an extremely important project - a project on the construction of the Odesa-Reni road and the bypass road. This is a transport corridor that connects Odesa, Reni, the border". According to him, it is possible to connect with Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria in the future.

"Ukraine begins here, from Reni. From here, tourists will see (Ukraine - ed.)," Petro Poroshenko emphasized, noting that in 2015-2016, it took 7-8 hours to reach Odesa, now - 3-4 hours. "Everyone sees that the road is the development of tourism. The road is the development of small and medium businesses, the development of regions and Ukraine," the President said, noting that a high-quality road will contribute to creating new jobs and infrastructure, as well as opening new opportunities for the ports of Izmail and Reni. According to him, road construction is to be completed by April.

"Today, we can say that a new well-repaired, beautiful road goes from Reni to Odesa. If the road bypassing Reni has been awaited for 10 years, the Odesa-Reni road was built in 1950s and almost the entire road has not been repaired ... Therefore, for Bessarabia, for the south of the Odesa region this was a question of life and death, an issue of communication," the President emphasized. According to him, changes are taking place every year, and this was made possible by the decentralization program that brought the money to the territorial communities.

"This doesn’t end with the circuit road. It is necessary to repair roads in the city as well. This requires money. Decentralization opens up these opportunities. Yes, we have been waiting for this road a long time, but I can emphasize that the main work was carried out in 2017-2018, and this is an unprecedented period when in two years, the road of such length was built, repaired, modernized," the Head of State emphasized. The President noted that the European Union funds are currently being used for the road construction. In the first place, they are aimed at restoring the Donbas infrastructure destroyed by the war, however, grants for the construction of roads throughout Ukraine are also being provided.

"55 billion hryvnias are provided to build roads this year. A lot has been done, but I emphasize - we look at the future with confidence," the President emphasized.

The Head of State also added that he had agreed with the authorities of Bulgaria and Romania to determine the location and build a bridge across the Danube to reduce the distance from Odesa to Romania and Bulgaria. The President notes that Bessarabia is a fantastic land that boasts its own cuisine, winemaking, and more. "We will develop tourism. Odesa region can become a leader in tourism, from Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi along the coast and finishing with Reni, Izmail, Vilkovo and the most beautiful places," Petro Poroshenko said.

The President thanked for the support and hospitality. "Our road is a symbol of our change. So let’s go together to the victory and the liberation of the Ukrainian land. And to the victory over poverty. I am sure that together we will overcome this, we will preserve Ukraine and move forward to the EU," he stressed.

The total length of the M15 Odesa-Reni road is more than 306 km; it was built in the 40-50 years of the XX century.