KYIV. Nov 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has enacted a bill annulling 5% duty on imported scrap ferrous metals. The document amends the law on the customs tariff, according to a posting on the parliament’s website.
The law amending the law on the customs tariff of Ukraine aimed at curbing a shortage of scrap ferrous metal on the domestic market to satisfy the needs of defense industry and restore infrastructure was returned to the parliament with the president’s signature on November 4.
The document passed by the parliament on October 5 sets nil rates for duties on imported scrap ferrous metal instead of 5%.
Chairman of the parliamentary committee for industrial policy and entrepreneurship Viktor Halasiuk said that the revoking of 5% duty on imported scrap metal is the second part of the package to support the country’s mining and metal complex.
“We have made a strategic step after increasing the duty on exported scrap metal from EUR 10 to EUR 30. The law is in effect now. This is actually the second part of the package – to fully lift imports duty on scrap metal,” he said.
KYIV. Nov 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) seeks to design methods for monitoring results of the implementation of the public program to partially compensate the cost of loans for modernization of heating efficiency and increase of energy efficiency in the Ukrainian housing sector (the ‘warm loans’ program) by the end of 2016.
Manager of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine Diana Korsakaite said at the eighth Renewable Energy Forum in Kyiv on November 2 said that these methods would be a basis for assessing any energy efficiency crediting program in the housing area and other areas. They would help to calculate not only expenses, but how much money is returned to the country’s economy for its restoration, she said.
She said that according to a poll of representatives of homeowner associations used the ‘warm loans’ program it was established that energy consumption by them reduced by 38-46% after introduction of energy efficient measures.
The expert said that with comprehensive modernization of heating efficiency in multi-apartment buildings in Ukraine saving of energy could reach 60-77%.
Coordinator of housing and utilities programs of NGO Opora Tetiana Boiko said that as of early November 2016 the Ukrainian government has not extended the ‘warm loans’ program for 2017. The draft 2017 budget did not foresee financing of the program.
Head of the council of chairmen of homeowner associations in Lutsk Roman Bondaruk said that the program should be expanded with the help of joining commercial banks. He said that this could have cut credit rates, making the program more affordable for homeowner associations.
He said that companies that manage multi-apartment buildings and energy servicing companies should have a chance to use this program.
According to Ukraine’s State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving, since the start of the program in 2014 as of late October 2016, over 180,000 families became program participants. The total sum of loans raised was over UAH 2.5 billion. Some 452 homeowner associations used the program and took credits worth UAH 57 million.
KYIV. Nov 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft agreement on joint freight transportation with the Turkish government.
According to government resolution No. 798 dated November 2, the government authorized Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan to sign the agreement.
The agreement would help to stir up and develop Ukrainian-Turkish interstate relations in the transport area.
KYIV. Nov 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – China’s CNBM International Corporation has become the owner of almost 100% in PJSC Neptun Solar (this company owns a solar power station in Mykolaiv region), according to a company report in the information disclosure system of the National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market.
At the same time, Austria’s Activ Solar GmbH sold its shares in Neptun Solar.
As reported, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine allowed CNBM buy a number of solar power plants built by Activ Solar (the company is associated with fugitive ex-head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Andriy Kliuyev).
According to the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine, the Ukrainian feed-in tariff for solar power plants is one of the highest in the world.
KYIV. Nov 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will organize financing for Carpathian Wind LLC (Karpatsky Viter, the founder is businessman Zynoviy Kozytsky) for a total of EUR23.1 million for building a wind power plant with a capacity of 20.7 MW in Lviv region, the bank’s press service has said.
“The package of funding in the amount of EUR23.1 million, organized by the bank, includes EUR8.6 million from the EBRD, EUR4 million from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), the first phase of the loan in the amount of EUR5.5 million from the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), as well as the first phase of the loan in the amount of EUR5 million from the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO),” the report reads.
The planned capacity of the new wind plant is 20.7 MW, it will be equipped with six turbines.
As reported, the EBRD previously financed the construction of wind plants by Kozytsky’s companies.
KYIV. Nov 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine is preparing the expansion of military and technical cooperation with Indonesia: the sides are holding negotiations on a possibility of supplying Ukrainian An-148-300MP maritime patrol planes to the Asia-Pacific Region (APR).
The press service of Ukrspecexport state-run company reported on Thursday that during the negotiations between Ukrspecexport Director General Pavlo Bukin and Indonesian Navy officers at the IndoDefence-2016 Expo&Forum (Jakarta, Indonesia), Ukraine announced a possibility of supplying An-148-300MP maritime patrol planes to an Indonesian customer with the future transfer of assembly technologies to apply at an Indonesian aircraft building plant.
Indonesian partners pointed out a large potential of the Ukrainian defense industrial complex and high professionalism in military and technical cooperation with Ukraine.
