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Intercity trains will be launched from Kyiv to all regional centers by 2024.
In addition to the service of fast trains, the Ministry of Infrastructure plans to electrify more than 500 km of railways for the next three years. “This will connect Kyiv with high-speed railways to all regional centers”, said the First Deputy Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Vasyl Shkurakov. "We are currently preparing a feasibility study for this project and plan to start its practical implementation next year," said Shkurakov.
● Ships
Ukraine started working on the development of a shipbuilding strategy.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Economy is developing a strategy for the development of shipbuilding. “We are creating conditions for the development of water transport. There is a demand for ships, and it is important for us to give impetus to the development of the Ukrainian industry. Therefore, we are working together with the Ministry of Economy on a shipbuilding strategy that includes legal and financial mechanisms”, said the Infrastructure Minister, Alexander Kubrakov. At the same time, he noted that the time for creating a national shipping company has not yet come.
This year river freight traffic on the Dnieper increased by 35%, announced the Sea Port Administration of Ukraine. As a result, the volume of freight traffic on the Dnieper in January-October 2021 amounted to 11.62mn tons, which is 35% more (or 3.01mn tons) than in the same period in 2020.
9.1.4 Construction & Real estate sector news
The worsening COVID-19 pandemic may hit Ukraine’s real estate market.
“Demand may decline by about 20% on the primary housing market in the largest cities of Ukraine”, said President of Real Estate Association, Yuriy Pita. "From the second half of September to October, demand has already decreased by an average of 15-20%. For example, in Kyiv and Odesa, the activity of investors has decreased by more than 15-17%, and in Lviv, Dnipro, and Kharkiv, the decline in demand is about 20-22%”, he said.
9.1.6 Agriculture sector news
More than 130 thousand hectares of agricultural land were sold in Ukraine. As of November 26, 52.1 thousand transactions on the land market were registered. In total, there were 5,981 applications, of which 5,296 were approved, and 685 were rejected. Kharkiv (18,100 hectares) and Kirovohrad regions (14,800 hectares) are in the lead regarding the land area for which transactions have been registered.
In contrast to this year’s record grain harvests, livestock production – eggs, milk and meat – are all down January to October, reports the State Statistics Service. Egg production is down 14% y/y, to 21.1bn eggs. Milk production is down 6%, to 7.5mn tons. Meat production is down 1.7%, to 2.7mn tons. Wool is down 6% to 1.4mn tons. The Ukrainian Agricultural Business Club blames the drop in egg production on the high price of feed.
Ukraine has already harvested 76.7 mln tons of grain, on an area of 14.9 mln hectares announced the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food. On
62 UKRAINE Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com