Next concession project we are planning in the port of Chornomorsk. Vladyslav Kryklii, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine stated the above during the presentation of winners of the first concession tenders in the ports of Ukraine. The event was attended by Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine Tymofiy Mylovanov, Minister of Transport and Communications of Qatar Jassim Al Sulaiti, IFC's regional head for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova Jason Pellmar, EBRD Deputy Chairman in Ukraine Mark Magaletsky, representatives of Risoil-Kherson company Shota Khajishvili and David Bezhuashvili, QTerminals Representative - Neville Bissett, Head of Kherson Regional State Administration Yuriy Husyev, Head of SPILNO Project Office at the Ministry of Infrastructure Taras Boychuk.

Vladyslav Kryklii stressed that concessions and investments should become the driving force for the development of Ukrainian infrastructure: “The first concession tenders in Ukrainian ports have been successfully conducted. Risoil-Kherson and QTerminals, who have the experience, resources and ambitious plans for the long term, won them. The total amount of investments in the development of Kherson and Olvia ports in the next 5 years will amount to 3.7 billion hryvnias,”the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine said.

The head of the Ministry said that the winner of the concession tender in the port of Kherson - Risoil-Kherson company, will invest 300 million hryvnia in the development of the port over four years, which is 40% more than set by the requirements of the competition. The winner of the competition in the port of Olvia - QTerminals from Qatar will invest UAH 3, 4 billion in the development of the port over 5 years. According to the Minister of Infrastructure, this is one of the most direct foreign investments in the port industry of Ukraine.

“Public-private partnership is our favorite. We are preparing concession projects in the seaports of Mariupol, Berdyansk, Odesa and Chornomorsk. The next concession tender will be in the seaport Chornomorsk. In this port, we offer investors a container terminal and a ferry complex. The next one will be competition in the seaport of Odesa, where investors should be interested in the passenger terminal and hotel. In addition, with support of the World Bank, we are working on road concession projects Lviv - Stryi and Lviv - Ternopil. By the end of February, we decide on concession projects at the airports of Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Chernivtsi. We are also preparing concessions of railway stations Chop, Dnipro Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Khmelnitsky, which should give new quality to our passengers on the railway,” Vladislav Kryklii said.

The head of the Ministry thanked the team of the Ministry of Infrastructure, the SPILNO project office and our partners from the International Finance Corporation and the EBRD for their efficient work and fruitful cooperation.

Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine Tymofiy Mylovanov noted that Ukrainian economy and infrastructure are underinvested and attracting concessionaires and investments are critical aspects of their development.

The Minister of Transport and Communications of Qatar Jassim Al Sulaiti said that the government and businessmen of Qatar have paid great attention to the concession of the port of Olvia, which has become a new stage in the development of bilateral relations with Ukraine in the sphere of transport and infrastructure.

IFC's regional head for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova Jason Pellmar stated that IFC is contributes to the modernization of infrastructure in Ukraine and is grateful to the Government of Ukraine for cooperation: “IFC is grateful to the Government of Ukraine, which has recognized our experience in concession projects. Both bidding projects clearly meet the needs of the state in terms of investment obligations, concessional payments to the budget, as well as protecting the interests of employees and local communities. We will continue fruitful cooperation with the Government in preparing the next wave of pilot concession projects in other infrastructure sectors, including roads, airports and railway, as well as in the energy and healthcare sectors,” Jason Pellmar said.

EBRD Deputy Chairman in Ukraine Mark Magaletsky noted on the effective cooperation of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, state-owned enterprises and international partners in the development and preparation of concession projects at the ports of Kherson and Olvia. He also said that the EBRD is considering financing the following concession projects.

Representatives of Risoil-Kherson company Shota Khajishvili and David Bezhuashvili, representative of QTerminals Neville Bissett thanked for fair and transparent competitions and presented ambitious plans for the concessions in the seaports of Kherson and Olvia.