Page 56 - UKRRptJan21

defence and the Antonov State Enterprise for three An-178 aircraft, which will be the first time in Ukraine since independence,” he says. “We have never ordered new planes.” An-178 is a Ukrainian medium-haul transport jet with a range of 3,680 km, cargo load of 18 tons, and capacity to carry 90 soldiers. Turkey and Antonov are negotiating joint production of the An-178. During the summer of 2014, at the height of the Ukraine-Russia air war over the Donbas, three Ukrainian Air Force transport planes were shot down — an Antonov An-26, an Antonov An-30 and an Ilyushin Il-76.
The number of flights made by Ukrainian airline companies dropped by 63% ​compared to 2019 reaching only 37,800 by November, State Aviation Administration of Ukraine reported on Oct. 7.
● Trains
Calling the condition of the state railroad’s freight wagons "catastrophic", the Cabinet of Ministers has adopted a “program of radical renewal” — replacing all 63,000 in the state fleet over this decade, reports the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture. With some wagons dating back to the 1960s, more than 90% of the wagons are past their service life. Noting that 24,000 used wagons have been imported in recent years from Russia, the Ministry warns that Ukraine risks “becoming a place for railway scrap written off by neighboring countries where operating restrictions apply.”
Ukraine’s railway monopolist Ukrzaliznytsia carried 250.8mn tons of cargo for the first 10 months​ of 2020, of 4.5% less if compared to the same period last year. At the same time, UZ carried 27mn tons in November, or 7% more than in 2019.
● Ships
After 12 years of discussion, the Rada passed a river development bill on
December 17 designed to triple cargo carried on the Dnipro to 30mn tons by 2025. Ships will pass free through river’s six locks. To modernize the aging river gates, an ‘Inland Waterways Fund’ will be created, funded largely by excise taxes on fuel. During the late Soviet era, 60mn tons of cargo moved annually on the Dnipro. a revitalised working river will generate an extra $500mn in economic activity, Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krikliy said on his Telegram account. He added that for each 1mn tons of cargo carried on the river, Ukraine can save $35mn in road repairs.
Despite the corona recession, cargo handled by Ukraine’s seaports is up by 1% y/y​. Through November, the ports handled 146mn tons. Confirming Ukraine’s reliance on exports of raw materials, grain and ore exports accounted for 58% of all cargo moving through the ports.
● Cars
European development banks are providing €900mn to rebuild the southern half of the Kyiv-Odesa highway and a 24 km northern bypass around Lviv, ​reported the Infrastructure Ministry. “This project is the largest in the 10 years of cooperation between Ukravtodor and the EBRD,” Oleksandr Kubrakov, head of the state highway agency, said, referring to the €450mn loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This loan
56​ UKRAINE Country Report​ January 2021 ​ ​www.intellinews.com