USPA and EBRD signed an Agreement on joint development of concession projects in two ports
On November 27, 2017, in London, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the presence of the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan signed an agreement on financing the development of a feasibility study (FS) for the concession projects of SE "Stevedoring Company «Olvia» and SE «Kherson Commercial Sea Port», says USPA press release.
According to the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan, the EBRD undertakes to cover the costs of technical assistance in the organization of these concession projects, as well as the preparation of fair and transparent tenders to attract private investors to transfer into concession two state-owned stevedoring companies. «World companies in Ukraine are not a fantasy and not a ghost. This is the future that we bring closer daily. I am grateful to the EBRD and other international partners who believe that Ukraine is being changed, and we are ready to guarantee fair and transparent rules in the market. I am convinced that great concession projects in Ukrainian ports are a matter of immediate prospects,» stressed Volodymyr Omelyan.
«The implementation of concession projects in the maritime industry is a logical continuation of the port reform, launched in 2013. The developmentof feasibility studies and tender documentation at a high professional level together with leading international financial organizations will guarantee the transparency of the tender and the economic validity of the concession of state stevedores. A successful implementation of pilot projects for the industry will create the basis for a long-term investment in the development of ports on understandable and mutually beneficial terms for both business and the state. Only according to preliminary estimates, the transfer of two state stevedores to the concession will help increase cargo flow by at least 5.5 million tons and attract investments of up to $ 140 million,» said Raivis Veckagans, the Head of the USPA.
To recall, on November 14th, 2017, in order to develop public-private partnership (PPP) in the port industry, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding. IFC will help to structure PPP projects in two Ukrainian ports – SE "Stevedoring Company «Olvia» and SE «Kherson Sea Commercial Port». IFC will also explore the possibility of structuring a PPP project for the development of a railway ferry complex at the SE “Chornomorsk Commercial Sea Port”.
Earlier, in June 2017, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine approved the plans for the preparation and implementation of pilot projects for the transfer into the concession of state property of SE "Stevedore Company «Olvia», SE «Kherson Commercial Sea Port», railway-ferry complex of SE «Chornomorsk Commercial Sea Port» and property of SE «Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority».