Lithuanian platform to help speed up restoration of Ukraine's Bucha, Borodyanka

VILNIUS - The Russian-destroyed cities of Bucha and Borodyanka in Ukraine will be rebuilt using a Lithuanian-developed interactive 3D platform to assess the damage caused by the war and to simulate the reconstruction of the cities.

This digital tool will help the cities to plan their reconstruction in a very precise and fast way, Tomas Gulbinas, head of the Ukraine program at the Construction Sector Development Agency, told a press conference on Friday.

"The digital twin cities are starting to work," he said. "It makes it much easier to do that urban regeneration, development planning. It's a very precise tool, these are no longer plans based on guesswork, it's very precise planning."

The agency is implementing the 426,000 euro project in cooperation with ID Vilnius, a Vilnius-based data center. The project is 50-50-funded by Lithuania's Fund for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid and Taiwan.

According to Gulbinas, the tool will allow architects to plan the reconstruction of specific parts of the city without having to physically visit them as they will be able to see the city' digital image from a specific point of their choice, which will save time.

The CSDA will present the digital tool in Ukraine next week and start training urban professionals. It will be used free of charge by Ukrainian municipalities.

The war has caused 190 million euros worth of losses in Bucha and 140 million euros worth of losses in Borodyanka. In Bucha, which had a population of over 42,000 people before the war, 185 buildings have been destroyed and another 2 500 have been more or less damaged. In Borodyanka, 144 buildings have been completely destroyed and another 1,500 damaged.