Qatari company QTerminals has won the competition for the Olvia seaport concession.
“The second concession tender has been completed. QTerminals from Qatar has won the concession tender in the port of Olvia. UAH 3.4 billion will be invested in the development of the port over five years,” wrote Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy on Facebook.
At the same time, he noted that this is one of the largest foreign direct investment in the port industry in the entire history of Ukraine’s independence.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved the issuance of a EUR3 million loan to PrJSC Lantmannen Axa, a breakfast cereal producer in Ukraine.
“The project will support improvements and expansion of production lines and higher value-added products, which is expected to lead to improvement in profitability and efficiency,” the EBRD said on its website.
“Out of the total investment plan of the borrower, EUR1.09 million is planned to be used for modernization of the production lines and installation of automation and control systems, which is expected to lead to energy efficiency savings,” the report says.
Lantmannen Axa is part of the Scandinavian food concern Lantmannen, which supplies products to 45 countries.
Lantmannen’s annual turnover is more than $3 billion.
Lantmannen Axa is a large Ukrainian producer of breakfast cereals. At its factory in Boryspil (Kyiv region) it produces goods (granola, cereal bars, cereals) under the START and AXA brands.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) have agreed a new EUR 50 million programme of financial guarantees aimed at scaling up investment in renewable energy in Ukraine and in the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood with a particular focus on Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia, the bank has said in a press release.
Under the new programme, the EBRD will provide guarantees to lenders such as local commercial banks, which will allow them to provide financing to projects alongside EBRD loans. The guarantee is expected to help generate total investments of up to EUR 500 million.
This is the first agreement during the bank’s cooperation with the EU through the External Investment Plan (EIP) in the EU neighbourhood regions.
“We’re delighted to partner with the EU for such an urgent cause as climate action. Our lending combined with the EU’s financial instruments encourages more participation of the private sector in investments which are very much needed to face the global challenges of the future, including a more sustainable development model,” EBRD Vice President, Policy and Partnerships Pierre Heilbronn said.
European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Olivér Várhelyi added that the EU is convinced the guarantee provides sufficient risk cover to attract major private sector investment in countries where not enough such financing is available.
According to the report, through the EIP, to date the EU has allocated EUR 4.5 billion in public funds to leverage EUR 44 billion in public and private investment for development in countries neighbouring the EU and in Africa.
Belarusian Belavia airline from April 30, 2020 will increase the frequency of direct flights from/to Kharkiv to/from Minsk from five to seven a week.
According to a posting on the Facebook page of the Kharkiv airport, if flights between cities are currently operated on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, then from April 30 they will be operated daily. Flight time is 1 hour and 12 minutes.
The cost of a one-way ticket excluding baggage starts from $80.
According to the data of the electronic census, population of Ukraine totals 37.289 million, minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Dmytro Dubilet reported.
“Ukraine amounts 37.289 million people,” Dubilet said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
Estimates of the amount of the present population are as of December 1, 2019. The assessment does not cover the uncontrolled territories of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The margin of error does not exceed 2.86%.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, called on international investors to become “architects of the success of the new Ukraine.” “Ukraine should become an investment mecca of Eastern and Central Europe. The main driver for economic development is the ability to make profit. And we are one of the few countries that now allows earning such a high return on invested capital. Today we are underinvested and disliked,” he said.
Zelensky called on investors to invest in Ukraine.
“Today, the pragmatic and petrified world is sorely lacking a miracle. And the world economy, which is on the verge of a new global crisis, needs an economic miracle. Ukraine is exactly the place where miracles happen. And my goal is to make Ukraine appear in textbooks next to the cases of Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Therefore, join in!” he said.
The president pointed out that the new Ukrainian authorities are creating equal rules of the game for everyone, cleansing the judicial system, digitalizing processes, implementing vital reforms and adopting vital laws.
“We have everything to become a successful country. Favorable climatic conditions, a very favorable geographic location, an inexhaustible agricultural and industrial potential, and our most valuable resource are incredibly creative and very talented people who are in the top 50 in the Human Capital Index rating,” he noted.
