On 19th September, 2018 in Kiev, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) held a conference for potential participants of the upcoming contests for the selection of the concessionaire in ports of Olvia and Kherson. Representatives of more than 25 Ukrainian and foreign companies (USA, China, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, Japan, Turkey, Qatar, Korea) came to Kiev to get acquainted with the presentation of feasibility studies of the projects.. The feasibility study of pilot concession projects was developed by the Consortium of International Consultants, formed by the EBRD and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The opening of the conference was attended by: the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelyan, the Head of the USPA, Raivis Veckagans, the IFC regional manager for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, Jason Brett Pellmar, and the Head of Infrastructure and Energy of the EBRD in Ukraine, Mark Magaletsky. «Business is interested in concession projects of state stevedoring companies in ports of Olvia and Kherson. After the presentation of the feasibility study of the projects, we will hold more than 10 individual meetings with potential investors, where we will discuss the possibility of their participation in the concession tenders", Raivis Veckagans noted. In addition, he added that the pilot projects in Olvia and Kherson are only the first step in the transformation of state-owned stevedoring companies through public-private partnership. In the future, based on the experience of the first concession tenders, the state and investors will be able to interact more effectively when implementing similar projects in ports of Chornomorsk and Yuzhnyi. The professional interest of business in pilot projects of state stevedores concessions in ports of Olvia and Kherson is also evidenced by the composition of the conference participants. Basically it is port operators, cargo owners and international traders. All of them either have extensive experience in the port industry in Ukraine and abroad, or are interested in creating or developing their own transshipment facilities in Ukrainian ports. “This once again proves that Ukraine is becoming more interesting for investors. We strive to prepare concession projects in accordance with the best world practices in strict accordance with all norms and rules. This will allow investors to be confident in their investments and become strategic long-term partners of Ukraine. And I want to emphasize that the President of Ukraine and the Government support the modernization of infrastructure and attracting investors through the mechanism of public-private partnership. I hope that the bill on concession No. 8125 will be voted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in October,” said Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan. He also added that the feasibility study of the pilot projects of Olvia and Kherson was developed in accordance with the current legislation, therefore, a tender for choosing a concessionaire can be held regardless of the adoption of a new bill. Some representatives of foreign companies on the eve of the conference had time to get acquainted with the work of state stevedores in ports of Olvia and Kherson. „We’ve just returned from Kherson and Mykolayiv, got acquainted with the work of stevedores in these ports, so today's presentation of the feasibility study of the concession was twice as interesting for us. Projects, of course, deserve attention. But before making further decisions, we need to get acquainted with the conditions in detail and analyze them taking into account the peculiarities of the Ukrainian market,“ the representatives of the Nectar Group (UK) commented on the results of the conference. In turn, the participants of the conference from the Turkish company CEYGROUP — the operator of Samsun port – are considering the concession projects of the ports of Olvia and Kherson in the context of developing their business and building a single logistics chain from Ukrainian producers of agricultural products to the end user – the clients of the Turkish company. „We are already processing agricultural goods from Ukraine. The possibility of developing own transshipment in these ports will bring us closer to the manufacturer and may allow us to optimize the logistics. Some conditions for feasibility studies, for example, the number of personnel, in comparison with international benchmarks, require additional consultations. However, the projects as a whole are interesting“. Individual negotiations between representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, IFC, EBRD, USPA and investors will continue until the end of the week.

The implementation of another major infrastructure project of Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority started on August 8, 2018 in Chornomorsk seaport (Odessa region). Chinese company China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC) embarked on a dredging on the maritime approach channel to the port and in the operating water area of the 1st bucket of the Dry Estuary. Dredging in Chornomorsk seaport will increase its competitiveness in the Black Sea basin, create conditions for the approach of large-capacity vessels with a draft of up to 14.5 m Capesize, deadweight up to 100 thousand tons and containerships with a capacity of 8 thousand TEU for existing and planned deepwater berths. «Large-scale dredging in Chornomorsk seaport is another stage in the implementation of USPA strategy for the development of Ukrainian ports. Our task is to create all necessary conditions for the effective work of all market participants – private and state stevedoring companies – to increase the flow of goods and expand the participation of Ukrainian ports in international transport corridors. Chornomorsk has an important role in the implementation of these plans," – said the head of USPA, Raivis Veckagans. According to him, development strategy of the port, in addition to dredging, provides for the reconstruction of the berthing front with increasing depths at its borders. We are talking about the reconstruction of berths No. 1–2, 11–17 with an increase in design depths of up to 15 m. Implementation of the project, developed by the basic institute of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine „ChernomorNIIProject“, provides for not only deepening, but also expanding the approach channel. To date, the length of the channel is 1400 m, the width is 150 m and the depth is 14.5 m. After reconstruction, its parameters will be increased: length — up to 1600 m, depth — up to 16 m. In turn, dredging of the water area of the 1st bucket of the Dry Estuary will allow to reach a depth in its central part up to 15 m. The total amount of dredging in Chornomorsk port will be about 2 million cubic meters. More than 500 thousand cubic meters of soil will be raised on the approach channel, in the water area – almost 1.5 million cubic meters. Estimated duration of work on projects is from 2 to 5 months. The cost of implementing projects – 404.1 million UAH without VAT. Of these, 87.1 million UAH without VAT will be directed to dredging of the channel, and 317 million UAH without VAT – water area. For dredging in Chornomorsk, CHEC mobilized a dredging fleet consisting of 15 vessels. All of them have already arrived in the water area of the port. As previously reported, CHEC was selected for dredging operations in the port of Chornomorsk as a result of open tenders in the electronic public procurement system ProZorro. The procedure consisted of two lots, an auction for each was held on March 13, 2018. The largest world dredging companies took part in the competition: China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd. (China), LTD Novadeal (Belgium), Jan De Nul n.v. (Netherlands), Van Oord Dredgingand Marine BV (Netherlands). CHEC offered the lowest cost of work. Savings amounted to 40 million UAH or 10% of the expected value. To recall that in May 2017, according to the results of the tender, two contracts were signed between USPA and CHEC for dredging in Yuzhny port. The work under the first contract was completed ahead of schedule for three months, the second – already completed 70% of the work.

On September 19, 2018 International Finance Corporation (IFC) will present concession projects in Olviia and Kherson seaports for potential investors who intend to participate in future bidding for the concessionaire choice. The meeting will take place in Kiev, at 13:30, at the InterContinental hotel. The Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan, the Head of the USPA, Raivis Veckagans, as well as representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the consortium of consultants IFC, the project office SPILNO, who participated in the development of Feasibility study of concession projects, will take part in the presentation. As for investors, a number of national and international companies have already confirmed their participation in the meeting. USPA invites potential investors to participate in the presentation, during which participants will have the opportunity to learn the full information on the projects and ask clarifying questions. For participation, please contact: Oleg Kudashov \n This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; Almaz Karassaev \n This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; Dragos Savka \n This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority and Qatar Ports Management Company “Mwani Qatar” was signed following the visit of the delegation of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Qatar to Ukraine. The document aims to increase cargo turnover between countries, in particular export supplies of Ukrainian agricultural products to Qatar, as well as attracting investments in the development of Ukrainian port infrastructure. The Memorandum was signed on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, in Kyiv in the presence of the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan and Minister of Transport and Communications of Qatar, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti. From the Ukrainian side, the document was signed by CEO of Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, Raivis Veckagans, from Qatar – General Director of Mwani Qatar, Abdulla Al Khanji. On the eve of signing, General Director of Mwani Qatar met with Raivis Veckagans in Odesa, where he got acquainted with work and potential investment projects in ports «Yuzhny» and «Odesa». "One of the priority directions that Qatar plans to develop in cooperation with Ukraine is the export of agricultural products. In this regard, at the meeting with Abdulla Al Khanji, we discussed in detail the concession projects of ports «Olviia» and «Kherson», which are in close proximity to the main agricultural regions of Ukraine ", – said CEO of USPA commenting on the signing of the Memorandum with Qatar. In addition, according to Raivis Veckagans, Qatar is also interested in taking part in the development of the Yuzhny port. This port, in accordance with the USPA strategy, thanks to dredging works, will be able to receive the largest vessels that can pass through the Bosphorus. In turn, General Director of Mwani Qatar, Abdulla Al Khanji, confirmed that the consultants of the Qatar company are already considering two projects in «Yuzhny» port. They also became interested in the project of passenger terminal development and the hotel in Odesa port. In the end, Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan, expressed confidence that in the near future Ukraine and Qatar will start implementation of projects in the port and aviation sector, aimed at developing transport infrastructure and expanding cooperation between two countries.