KYIV. Sept 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – AutoHUB, a new service for convenient registration of vehicles purchased abroad, will open on Friday, September 8, at Odesa seaport, where the work of seven state and private institutions will be organized, including customs officers, border guards, various experts, as well as an insurance company, a bank and a branch of the service center of the Interior Ministry.
According to the State Fiscal Service, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, acting Fiscal Service Head Myroslav Prodan, head of the Odesa customs Oleksandr Vlasov, Head of Odesa Regional State Administration Maksym Stepanov will participate in the opening of the AutoHUB.
According to the service, Odesa seaport this year has accepted about 300 vessels with containers, many of them with used cars from the United States and the UAE, as since 2016 such cars can be imported at significantly lower excise duty rates.
The development of the AutoHUB pilot project began in early summer this year on the initiative of Oleksandr Vlasov and representatives of the business community under the auspices of the governor and the acting Fiscal Service head.
KYIV. Sept 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – National energy company Ukrenergo starts working under the FIDIC Yellow book contracts, which take into account the specifics of national legislation and the specifics of each facility when using the multi-level financing system that will ensure high-tech level of works with observation of terms.
“Work under typical FIDIC contracts shows that our facilities will meet global quality standards from technological point of view. This is also one of the elements of the new investment policy of the company aimed at improving organization approaches to construction,” the press service said, citing Director for Investment and Strategy Volodymyr Kudrytsky.
The Yellow book is contracts of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) applied in international practice in supplies and assembly of electrical equipment, designing projects, construction and engineer works.
Ukrenergo operates trunk and interstate power transmission lines and provides centralized oversight of the integrated power grids. It is a state company run by the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry.
KYIV. Sept 11 (Interfax-Ukraine) – National energy company Ukrenergo and KfW (Germany) have signed an agreement on providing grants to finance consulting service in joint projects, the company’s press service has reported.
The press service said that the grants are provided from the special fund of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ) via KfW to finance advisors to be selected and contracted by Ukrenergo.
In particular, one of the agreements provides for financing of monitoring services for the implementation of the current project entitled “Reconstruction of Substations in Eastern Ukraine.” The second agreement provides for the preparation and monitoring of the implementation of a new project entitled “Improving Energy Efficiency in Power Transmission (Reconstruction of Transformer Substations) II.”
The agreements signed on September 6 provide for the selection one of the best European companies that will manage the implementation of projects on behalf of Ukrenergo at an open tender, in accordance with the criteria of KfW.
KYIV. Sept 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB, Polenergia International S.àr.l. and EDF Trading Limited, a consortium of companies intends to participate in the project on establishing the Ukraine-EU Energy Bridge, the press service of Ukraine’s Energy and Coal Industry Ministry has reported.
“The consortium consisting of Westinghouse, Polenergia and EDF has sent a concept note and the feasibility study for public private partnership in the project,” the ministry said.
The press service said that a working group for implementing the project, created under ministry order No. 660 dated October 17, 2016, has approved the conclusions after analyzing the efficiency of the implementation of the project and sent them to the Economic Development and Trade Ministry for approval. In addition, the profile section of the research and technical council of the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry endorsed the scheme for connecting reactor two of Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant (NPP) to the European power grid.
The Ukraine-EU Energy Bridge project envisages the organization of transmission from reactor two of Khmelnytsky NPP to the European power grid. The funds that will be received from exports of this electricity will be used to finance construction of reactors three and four of the NPP.
As reported, the decision to implement a pilot project entitled “Ukraine-EU Energy Bridge” was made by the government in June 2015.
Earlier National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom held negotiations on the project with Kulczyk Investments.
KYIV. Sept 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Germany’s Fresenius Medical Care, the manufacturer of products and services for patients with impaired kidney function, is mulling the possibility of resuming the investment program on construction of a chain of hemodialysis centers with a total cost of EUR 30 million if government’s bills on healthcare reform (No. 6327) are adopted and the rules for procurement of healthcare services is launched.
Fresenius Medical Care Ukraine Director Volodymyr Podvorny told reporters on Thursday that under the investment program approved in 2008, it was planned to build 10 hemodialysis centers in different regions of Ukraine where the hemodialysis services will be provided in line with newest international recommendations and standards.
“Under this program we have opened two centers – in Chernihiv and Cherkasy. They have been working since 2009. Then the program was frozen. We are ready to resume this program if bills on healthcare reform that will give an opportunity to purchase healthcare services are adopted. Money will really go after patients, and they will be able to choose a clinic,” he said.
At the same time, he predicts that the adoption of the relevant bills will significantly increase investment in the health sector.
Podvorny said that “hemodialysis is an area that is completely ready for the introduction of public procurement of healthcare services, first of all, due to the fact that the legislative base is completely ready for it.”
“Since 2011, the officially approved methodology for calculating the cost of hemodialysis, as well as approved protocols and standards of treatment, has been in effect. There is a register of patients that allows you to understand the scope of services,” he said.
Podvorny said that, according to the officially approved methodology for calculating the cost of hemodialysis services, its cost in the Fresenius hemodialysis centers of is UAH 1,910, while in other private clinics it is about UAH 2,000. At the same time, according to him, state-owned clinics often “have no understanding of the cost of hemodialysis services.”
KYIV. Sept 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Google on Wednesday officially launched Google Flights, the Ukrainian version of its airline tickets search engine that started in September 2011.
Google said on Wednesday that the service provides a forecast for the price changes.
The engine also recommends alternative airports or dates for trips when searching for cheaper trip options.
Ukrainian language has become the 51st language in the Google Flights service.
