Chairman Victor Prokopchuck and ESC member Olga Martinyuk welcomed ISTT Chairman Dec Downey who gave a keynote address. Some 93 delegates including 15–20 student members listened avidly to 24 excellent papers, primarily on new construction by horizontal directional drilling including contributions from local distributors for Vermeer, Ditchwitch and DCI.

The merits of locally produced and imported bentonite additive and mud materials were enthusiastically discussed and the event culminated with a buffet for all and a dinner for the Ukraine Association Board where the discussion continued the lively debate.

Dr Downey commented that it was good to see such a young society functioning well and encouraging healthy debate and he hoped that in future years there would be contributions from international contributors in the rehabilitation sector. On the second day delegates toured local manufacturing facilities, concluding their get together.