For many years Kherson region is a platform of cooperation with Scandinavian partners in the field of ecology and energy saving. Since 2007, a number of projects on training of specialists of the industrial and utility enterprises, introduction of energy efficient technologies in budgetary institutions, ecological education of school youth, etc. has been implemented thanks to joint efforts of the Norwegian Embassy in Ukraine, city authorities, the Kherson Chamber of Commerce and Industry and non-governmental organizations.
This year the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) and the Finnish government announced contest within the program "The Nordic energy efficiency and humanitarian support initiative - Prefabricated Figurative Houses for Social Infrastructure of Ukraine". The Education Department of the Kherson City Council decided to take part in the tender and submitted a draft "The pilot module "Green School" of Antonovka  village" to the Commission. The director of Antonovka comprehensive school No. 21 Galina Lugovaya successfully presented the project in Kiev, and it was selected by the NEFCO Investment Committee for a grant. The essence of the project is to establish on the territory of school No. 21 Finnish figurative modules which are most approached to standards of the "green" buildings with separate elements of the "passive" building. This will increase the number of pupils and will create the most comfortable environment for education of children living in Antonovka village.

Visit to Kherson of NEFCO and Finnish consulting company "A-Insin öörit Rakennuttaminen Oy" representatives became the next stage of the project implementation. The meeting of the Kherson mayor V. Mikolayenko with  the Investment manager of NEFCO, Maria Milimiyemi, the head of NEFCO's office in Ukraine, Yulia Shevchuk, project managers of the "A-Insin öörit Rakennuttaminen Oy" company  Mirko Soronen and Olev Rotla held on June, 10. At the meeting there were also the members of workgroup on the project implementation: mayor's deputies Sergey Cherevko and Inna Tribukh, the head of Education Department of the Kherson City Council  Yury Nikonov, the head of Capital Construction Department Vasily Karaush, the head of Economic Development Department Elena Yaryga, the head of the International Cooperation centre of the Kherson CCCI Larisa Ponomarenko, the director of Antonovka school No. 21 Galina Lugovaya, acting first deputy of the Kherson Customs Vladimir Vasilenko, the director of "UKRNIIINZHPROYEKT", LLC Vladimir Skorokhod.

The mayor V.Mikolayenko noted that the project implementation will solve two main objectives: to increase the school opportunities for training of more children and to continue energy and resource-saving programs in objects of social sphere.

To date nearly 700 school-aged children live on the territory of Kindiyka and Antonovka. For the last year more than 100 children of displaced families have moved there. Built more than a hundred years ago the school is for only 200 pupils, and more than 280 are studying here now. The others have to reach Kherson schools by bus.
The mayor confirmed that the city authorities assume preparation of a building site, communications conduct and organization of school securing. 1,191 million hryvnas of the city budget has been already allocated for the joint project implementation. The funds which will remain unused within grant financing will be spent on energy modernization of the old school building.

After a meeting the delegation of NEFCO visited also Antonovka school No. 21 where technical issues were discussed.
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The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) is an international finance institution established in 1990 by the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. NEFCO provides loans and makes capital investments in order to generate positive environmental effects of interest to the Nordic region.

To date, NEFCO has financed a wide range of environmental projects in Central and Eastern European countries, including Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. NEFCO's activities are focused on projects that achieve cost-effective environmental benefits across the region. NEFCO prioritizes projects that reduce releases of climate gases, improve the ecological status of the Baltic Sea or mitigate release of toxic pollutants. NEFCO's portfolio currently comprises nearly 400 small and medium-sized projects spread across different sectors.

The Finnish company A-Insinöörit works in the sphere of design and reconstruction of buildings, constructions, objects of infrastructure, rocky soil engineering and ecotechnology.