EU country announces competition for clearing Ukrainian lands for the first time.

The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) has announced a grant competition for the clearance of land in frontline areas from mines and other remnants of war.

According to the Ministry of Economy, projects must include non-technical and/or technical surveys of the areas and informing the population about mine threats. The priority for implementing projects within the competition has been given to the Kharkiv region, which has been the most affected by the war. This region is also a pilot for introducing an automated prioritization system for areas based on solutions from Palantir.

'This is the first Time one of the partner countries allocates funds directly for clearing our lands, involving Ukrainian mine action operators in this process. I believe that such cooperation will allow faster return to usage of identified contaminated areas and strengthen cooperation not only at the institutional level but also among organizations and companies of our countries that strive to make Ukrainian land safer,' said the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Svyrydenko.

The total budget of the competition is 6 million euros, but the maximum amount for one project should not exceed 1.8 million euros.

Only non-profit organizations that can collaborate with commercial mine action operators can participate in the competition.

Applications are accepted until May 11 of this year, and the overall expected project implementation period is up to 15 months.