Ukrainian authorities want to pass JSC Ukrzaliznytsia to management of Deutsche Bahn AG (DB), Germany’s operator of railways, for 10 years, Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk has said. “Yes, we want to pass our railways to the Germans to manage it for 10 years,” Honcharuk said at the Ukrainian Breakfast in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday morning.
He added that the authorities of Ukraine associate not only expectations about the development of Ukrzaliznytsia with this decision. “This is ecosystem-based issue, which should show that Ukraine is unprecedentedly open for investment, for the world, for new standards,” the prime minister said.
Honcharuk said that, despite the fact that it is still necessary to negotiate and agree on the details of the decision and documents, “a political decision on this has already been taken and this is a huge step.”
Later, at a briefing on the sidelines of the Ukrainian Breakfast, the prime minister said that the relevant agreement with DB will be “early February.”
As reported, on January 22, 2020, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and Deutsche Bahn in Davos, Switzerland, signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic partnership in the industry and the development of Ukrzaliznytsia.
“This memorandum is not yet about privatization, and not about concession, but about strategic partnership. That’s great news,” Honcharuk said, when opening a meeting of the National Investment Council under the president of Ukraine in Davos.
He said that the country needs such assistance to improve the situation on the country’s railway and realize its logistics potential.
At the same time, speaking about the memorandum, in his Twitter account, Honcharuk said that German specialists will reform the management mechanisms of Ukrzaliznytsia, and Ukraine will retain full control over the enterprise.
“I hope that German operational efficiency and zero tolerance for corruption will become the basis for changing the situation in Ukrzaliznytsia,” the prime minister wrote.
According to the text of the memorandum, the parties will study the possibilities of creating a strategic partnership between Ukrzaliznytsia and DB.
