The Digital Transformation of Construction Services: What It Means for Developers and the Market
Over the past five years, there have been significant improvements in the digitalization of the construction sector in Ukraine. For the development market, this is not so much about convenience as it is about reduced manual intervention, more predictable procedures, faster service processing, and better visibility of project data. It is precisely these changes that create healthier conditions for launching new projects, attracting investment, and facilitating recovery.
According to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the Unified State Electronic System for the Construction Sector (USECS) has become the industry’s core digital infrastructure over the past five years. Over 7.5 million documents have been registered in the system, which is used by approximately 140,000 market participants; among the results are 2.8+ million technical inventories, 127,000+ project documents, 713,000+ construction permits, over 160,000 building passports, 81,700 urban planning conditions and restrictions, as well as 474 buildings automatically registered as objects of special property rights, comprising over 60,000 future apartments, parking spaces, and offices. It is also important to note that the system is integrated with DREAM and the Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property, which directly relates to development within the context of the country’s recovery.
The Association’s own industry survey confirms that real estate development companies are making extensive use of these digital tools. 94% of respondents indicated that they use Diya or the Unified State Electronic Service System (USESS). The USESS is the most common method for submitting and receiving information, followed by Diya, the Administrative Service Centers (ASC), and in-person visits to government agencies.
Today, citizens have access to 13 construction services online through Diya, and over the past five years, they have received more than 223,000 services through Diya and another 410,000 through the Administrative Service Centers. But what matters more to the market is this: digital services are gradually shifting key construction processes from a system of “informal agreements” to one of clear rules, statuses, and inspections.
To assess not only the convenience but also the actual economic and anti-corruption impact of digitalization, the Ministry of Digital Transformation conducted a separate analysis of these changes in collaboration with the research firm Civitta.
The economic impact of this transition is already measured in the billions. According to Civitta’s estimates, the 14 construction services available on Diia generate an economic impact of 3.3 billion UAH per year, of which 3.26 billion UAH is the annual anti-corruption effect. The cost of obtaining construction services has decreased fivefold, and the cumulative effect over five years has reached nearly 13.7 billion UAH. Research shows that it is precisely in construction procedures that digitalization has a particularly significant impact—it reduces manual intervention, narrows the scope for abuse, and makes operating rules more transparent for all market participants.
For developers, this means more than just a more convenient document workflow. It involves lower transaction costs, reduced reliance on human intervention, more predictable timelines, and higher-quality interactions with the government. Civitta also estimates that for a group of services vulnerable to corruption risks, the actual effect already amounts to 4.2 billion UAH per year, and the projected impact on GDP by 2035 is 1%. At the same time, researchers emphasize that to fully realize these benefits, further integration of registries, interagency cooperation, and the continued implementation of transparent decision-making algorithms are required.
That is precisely why digitalization remains a priority for the Ukrainian Association of Developers as well.
Together with Ukrfinzhytlo, the Association is working on a digital accreditation system for construction projects under the “eOselya” program, based on the “single window” principle. The “Developer’s Office” is designed to simplify and expedite the submission of documents, allow for the submission of a single application to multiple banks simultaneously, eliminate the need to submit duplicate sets of documents, and enable online tracking of application status. For the market, this is a logical continuation of that very transformation: less bureaucracy, more transparency, and greater speed in processes critical to launching sales and securing financing.
