Ukraine is set to provide the opportunity to be vaccinated against coronavirus (COVID-19) to 70% of its adult population by the end of 2021, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said.
“In order to achieve herd immunity, 60% of the adult population must be vaccinated. We would like to increase that level to 70%. At least, to give them the opportunity to be vaccinated,” Stepanov said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
The healthcare system is capable of administering that many shots, he said.
“Ukraine has 11,500 vaccination stations, and each station is capable of administering about 40-50 shots per day. That means the country can administer up to 450,000-500,000 shots per day. Surely, we are not using every available vaccination station just yet. The number of shots we are hoping to administer ranges from five million to seven million per month. That would be enough,” Stepanov said.
Ukraine has signed contracts for the delivery of 22 million doses of vaccines, and contracts for another 15 million doses will be concluded shortly, he said.
Nebras Power is announcing its entry into the Ukrainian electricity market with the acquisition of six solar projects and a partnership agreement with UDP Renewables, Nebras Power reported on Twitter.
According to a report on the website of the president of Ukraine, UDP Renewables investment and development company and the Qatari state-owned company Nebras Power have signed an agreement to invest in “green” generation facilities, the construction of which is scheduled for 2021-2022.
According to the agreements reached, Nebras Power becomes the owner of a controlling stake in a number of solar power plant operators.
The signing of the agreement will contribute to deepening cooperation between Ukraine and the State of Qatar in the field of foreign investment and the development of renewable energy sources, an innovative economy and environmental protection, the President’s Office noted.
As reported, at the end of January, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) authorized Nebras Power Investment Management B.V. (the Netherlands), a member of the Qatar group Nebras, to receive 50% or more in six companies operating solar and wind power plants of businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky and his partners.
According to the committee, the matter concerns 50% in Volyn West Wind-1 LLC and Volyn West Wind-2 LLC, as well as more than 50% in Free Energy Henichesk LLC, Scythia-Solar-1 LLC, Scythia-Solar-2 LLC and Port Solar LLC.
The seaports of Ukraine in January-March 2021 handled 32.6 million tonnes of cargo, which is 20.5% less than in the same period last year.
According to the website of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, most of all the ports handled ore and grain cargo – 9 million tonnes (less by 12.1%) and 8.6 million tonnes (less by 36.9%), respectively. At the same time, transshipment of oil in the three months of this year increased by 21.1% and amounted to 619,000 tonnes.
Over the reporting period, transshipment of export cargo amounted to 25.3 million tonnes (less by 20.1% compared to the same period in 2020), import – 4.9 million tonnes (19.9% less), transit – 2.1 million tonnes (25.1% less), cabotage – 233,800 tonnes (35.1% less).
Transshipment of containers in the first quarter of 2021 amounted to 253,170 TEU, which is 4.6% less than in the same period a year earlier.
As reported, the seaports of Ukraine in 2020 handled 158.86 million tonnes of cargo. In 2019, seaports handled exactly 160 million tonnes.
An agreement on making an additional contribution from the Qatari port operator QTerminals to the concession project for Olvia specialized seaport has been signed during the official visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Qatar.
The signing of this agreement was announced by the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine with reference to Minister Vladyslav Krykliy.
At the same time, it is specified that the agreement was signed in the presence of Minister of Transport and Communications of Qatar Jassim Al Sulaiti and Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba.
The Ministry of Infrastructure notes that the signing of this agreement is an important stage in the procedure for transferring the port to concession, since it confirms the financial viability of the concessionaire to finance the entire amount of the declared investment – $140 million.
“Within the framework of the Olvia seaport concession, the leading world operator, the Qatari company QTerminals, which manages the largest commercial port of Qatar, Hamad, worth more than $7 billion, was involved in work in Ukraine. I welcome today’s signing the agreement on making an additional contribution from the concessionaire to this project. This is one of the main prerequisites for the further transfer of the port’s property to concession,” Krykliy commented on the signing of the document.
The agreement on transfer to concession of Olvia specialized seaport, located in Mykolaiv, was concluded on August 20, 2020. According to it, the Qatari company QTerminals will invest about UAH 3.4 billion in the development of the port. In addition, at least UAH 80 million will be invested in the local infrastructure. In just 35 years, concession will attract UAH 17.3 billion. The annual concession payment will be at least UAH 80 million. In addition, the concessionaire must ensure the minimum volume of cargo transshipment of at least 2.55 million tonnes per year, also guarantees the preservation of jobs for the next six years and the appropriate level of wages for the team.
The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine and Qatar Petroleum, the state-owned oil and gas company of Qatar, have signed a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation, the press service of the Ministry of Energy said.
On the part of Ukraine, the document was signed by acting Minister of Energy Yuriy Vitrenko, for Qatar – President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi.
“Cooperation in the oil and gas sector of Ukraine and Qatar is promising and important for our country. Qatar is one of the largest gas producers in the world and has valuable experience and significant financial resources for investments in the exploration and production of gas in Ukraine,” Vitrenko, who is currently on a visit to the capital of Qatar, Doha, as part of the Ukrainian delegation led by the president of Ukraine, said.
In addition, according to him, cooperation with Qatar is of fundamental importance for Kyiv from the point of view of diversifying sources of gas supplies to Ukraine.
In accordance with the memorandum, the states intend to develop cooperation, in particular in the areas of investments from Qatar in the exploration and production of gas in Ukraine, as well as gas supplies (liquefied natural gas) from Qatar to Ukraine.
The memorandum will be valid for three years and can be automatically renewed for the same period.
Agro-industrial holding Astarta, the largest sugar producer in Ukraine, is going to carry out sowing work on an area of 208,200 hectares in optimal terms, despite the late start due to cold weather, the company said in a press release on Monday.
According to the agricultural holding, it will sow sugar beets on an area of 33,500 hectares, corn (59,900 hectares), soybeans (31,200 hectares), wheat (46,500 hectares), sunflower (28,100 hectares), winter rapeseed (7,200 hectares), and is also engaged in organic farming on 1,800 hectares.
Astarta noted that it is ready for the sowing season and provided with plant protection products, fertilizers and seeds. The agricultural holding said that it produces wheat and soybean seeds at its own seed plants under the Astarta Select brand
According to the company, John Deere tractors purchased in 2020-2021 will be used in the current sowing campaign, within the framework of a five-year investment program for the renewal of agricultural machinery, and properly trained personnel will be also involved into it.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in eight regions of Ukraine. It includes eight sugar factories, agricultural enterprises with a land bank of 243,000 hectares and dairy farms with 25,000 cows, seven elevators, a biogas complex and a soybean processing plant in Poltava region (Globino Processing Plant LLC)
