Page 67 - UKRRptSept21

In other news, Ukraine’s State Regulatory Service approved Infrastructure Ministry’s initiative to increase in two stages the rates for the railway transportation of certain cargos, according to information from Ukrainian Railways’ supervisory board member Serhiy Leshchenko. Recall, the initiative, made public in July, assumes an increase of freight rates for 1st class goods (iron ore, coal, cement, mineral fertilizers) of 8% from September and 20.4% from January, and for 2nd class goods (grains) of 8% from September and 6.5% from January. This should increase Ukrainian Railways’ revenue by UAH1.78bn in 2021 and by UAH10.09bn in 2022. According to Leshchenko, the rates increases will affect SCM companies the most, with Metinvest%age will have to spend UAH3.2bn more and DTEK%age UAH1bn more for cargo transportation.
Deutsche Bahn to help Ukrainian Railways improve its performance. Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) and Deutsche Bahn Engineering & Consulting have signed an agreement which seeks to improve the development of passenger railway transportation, optimize purchasing, and upgrade rolling stock. The German company will help Ukrzaliznytsia to separate passenger and freight traffic and ensure effective management. It’s the “first systematic step towards a complete transformation of railway transportation in Ukraine,” Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov said.
● Ships
River cargo on the Dnipro is up by 39% this year, compared to the same January-July period last year, reports the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority. Boosted by this summer’s massive roadbuilding program, construction materials – sand and gravel – are running at double last year’s levels. With grains and metals down, construction cargo accounted for 71% of this year’s cargo.
Turkish Akkon Line Begins Container Service to Ukraine. Turkey’s Akkon Lines are launching a new container service from Turkey to Ukraine. An agreement between DP World TIS Pivdennyi and Akkon Shipping was signed on August 26. The first arrival at DP World TIS Pivdennyi is expected in early September. The regular weekly service will offer direct connection between Pivdenniy (formerly, Yuzhny) in Ukraine and Ambarli and Gebze, with further transshipment to Constanta in Romania, Valencia, Barcelona and Castiglione in Spain, Salerno and Genoa in Italy, Bizerte and Sous in Morocco.
Building on Ukraine’s first state port concessions to private investors, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation is training Ukraine government personnel to manage these concessions - at Kherson and Olvia ports, the IFC’s Ukraine office reports. Over the next two years, the government plans to sell four small Black Sea ports outright and to lease out units in other ports through public-private partnerships.
Cargill, the US food giant, has acquired 51% ownership in Neptune Grain Terminal in Pivdennyi, Ukraine’s busiest Black Sea port. Designed to handle 5mn tons of grain a year, the terminal berth has a 16-meter water depth. Minority owner Andriy Stavnitser, of M.V. Cargo LLC, says Neptune is
67 UKRAINE Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com