Page 55 - UKRRptJan22

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a devastating impact on UZ, particularly the blocking of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports which reduced traffic for cargo. Experts predicted in June that the company will make a financial loss this year. Moreover, the company has also suffered serious infrastructure damage. As of October, 6000km of tracks have been damaged or lost to Russian occupation and 50 bridges destroyed, whilst dozens of stations have ceased operations. However, Canadian companies Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CPR) and the Canadian National Railway (CNR) announced plans to help rebuild UZ. In addition to infrastructure reconstruction, the companies will provide support in railway management and the development of logistics capabilities.
● Ships
The Danube ports of Ukraine tripled their cargo-handling volume. The ports of Izmail, Reni, and Ust-Dunaisk increased the volume of cargo transshipment by 2.9 times in the 11 full months of the year compared to the same period last year, the Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine said. In particular, in January-November, the ports of the Danube region handled 14.5 million tons of cargo, which is 294% of the total volume compared to last year. The volume of export of agricultural products such as oil and grain from the ports of the Danube region amounted to 6.1 million tons, which exceeds the figure for the same period in 2021 by 42 times. The export of agricultural products through Danube ports amounts to 24% of the total volume from the seaports of Ukraine. According to the Sea Port administration, even though the Danube ports have already attracted almost all available capacity for cargo transshipment, there is still potential for further development.
9.1.4 Construction & Real estate sector news
The war has changed Ukraine’s real estate market. From February 24 to December 12, Ukrainians sold 52,605 various real estate objects, which is a decrease of almost 80% compared to the same period in 2021. Residential real estate objects have occupied the largest share of sales. During the specified period, buyers purchased 47,023 apartments and residential buildings. This is an identical decline compared to the same period last year, noted the State Property Fund. Industrial real estate sales also fell significantly by 77% to 4,622 objects, commercial real estate by 81% to 502 objects, and administrative real estate by 87% to 458 objects. At the same time, the National Bank predicts long-term stagnation in the real estate market of Ukraine, which may lead to a housing supply shortage. So far, the activity of buyers on the market is almost zero, and prices do not correspond to reality, the NBU says.
Rental rates for office space in Kyiv have decreased by 30%.Rental rates in the capital's business centers have reduced by 30% since the beginning of the year, UTG reported. Analysts attribute this to a sharp drop in demand for office space, primarily from international companies and the IT segment. This results from 41.28% of the staff of the surveyed IT companies being evacuated abroad or to the west of Ukraine. The largest number of IT specialists left Kyiv (a reduction from 45% to 29% of the all-Ukrainian number of IT specialists), Kharkiv from 13% to 2%, and Odesa from 5% to 3%. Some moved to the Lviv region (an increase from 13% to 18%) or Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia regions. The biggest share of IT employees will not return to Ukrainian offices in the near future, believes UTG top manager Kostyantyn Oliynyk. As for
55 UKRAINE Country Report January 2023 www.intellinews.com