ZHUHAI (China). Nov 2 (Interfax-AVN) – The new owners of the Sea Launch project, which has until recently been using Zenit Russian-Ukrainian launch vehicles powered with RD-170 engines, are expecting to resume the launch program as early as in 2018, NPO Energomash General Director Igor Arbuzov told Interfax-AVN on Tuesday on the Airshow China-2016 sidelines.
“If the launch vehicle is not replaced and if we are invited to cooperate, we will be ready to meet the company’s demand for engines,” he said, answering a question as to how long it would take to resume RD-170/171 production given the plans to reanimate the Sea Launch project.
Sea Launch Group members (subsidiaries and lower-tier subsidiaries of Energia Corporation) and S7 Group entered into a contract for the purchase of the Sea Launch Commander ship, the Odyssey launch platform and gear, and the Sea Launch trademark on September 27 during the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2016 in Guadalajara (Mexico).
Sea Launch International Consortium, established in 1995, used to launch Zenit-3SL rockets from the floating platform deployed in the equatorial Pacific. Following reorganization in 2010, Energia Overseas Limited (EOL), a subsidiary of Energia Corporation, acquired a 95% stake in the company, while U.S. Boeing received 3% and Norway’s Aker Solutions got 2%. The company was headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland, until recently.
The Zenit-3SL launch vehicle consists of the Zenit-2S two-stage rocket (created by Yuzhnoye (Pivdenne) Design Bureau and built by Yuzhmash (Pivdenmash) in Ukraine mostly using Russian-made component parts) and the DM-SL booster unit designed and manufactured by Energia Corporation in Korolyov, Moscow region.
As many as 36 Zenit-3SL missions, including 33 successful, have been accomplished under the Sea Launch program.
KYIV. Nov 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The oilseed harvest of Rostok-Holding (Kyiv) in 2016 grew by 25%, to 51,900 tonnes.
The company said in a press release that sunflower seeds were harvested on 12,800 ha (12,000 ha in 2015). Some 34,200 tonnes were harvested with average yield of 26.7 centners per ha (29 centners per ha in 2015).
“This year we carried out the works on fields in the extremely narrow period of time. He did our best and reached good indicators for oilseed yield. Average soybeans yield exceeded our target by 1.5 times. In general, this year a historic record was broken for soybeans yield,” Rostok-Holding CEO Dmytro Kypavtsev said.
Rostok-Holding LLC, created in 2010, is a vertically integrated agro-industrial group. It specializes in cultivation and sale of grains, production, processing and sale of dairy products, grain trading.
KYIV. Nov 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Shareholders in private joint-stock company AMD Illichivsk (Odesa region) have permitted the company’s board to refinance a credit line with the limit of $30 million (UAH 765.98 million).
According to a company report, the decision was made at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on October 28, 2016.
The shareholders authorized the board of ADM Illichivsk to sign addendums to the following contracts: on the short-term loan dated June 8, 2012, on the provision of overdraft services dated June 7, 2015 on the loan with the limit of $30 million and permitted the board to attract reimbursable financial assistance of UAH 200 million.
The permits are in effect within 12 months after the date of the meeting.
AMD Illichivsk is a subsidiary of ADM Corporation.
According to a posting on the corporation’s website, the corporation operates an oilseed crushing plant in Illichivsk, a grain terminal in the port of Odesa, five inland and one river silos, and a trading office in Kyiv. ADM employs more than 850 people in Ukraine
In April 2014, ADM finalized a deal to acquire Alfred C. Toepfer International, a global merchandiser of agricultural commodities and processed products with offices all over Ukraine.
KYIV. Nov 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia has finished drilling of the new two-track Beskydsky tunnel on October 28 in line with the schedule.
The company said in a Monday press release that the tunnel was drilled in two stages: the upper section and the lower section. A total of 1,764 meters were drilled.
The workers are improving the roadbed at the approaches to the tunnel, installing the track at the approaches and in the tunnel, assembly lighting, communications and control lines. It is planned that the works will be finished by late May 2017.
The workers continue drilling rooms and niches in the tunnel. It is required that niches will be staged each 30 meters, with niches and open areas made each 150 meters.
The new two-track tunnel will replace the existing single track one, which was built in 1886. It has a speed limit of 15-40km/h and remains the only “narrow” place in the Chop-Lviv direction. The new tunnel is designed for a speed of 60-70 km/h and increase the capacity of this section of the track from 47 to 100 pairs of trains per day.
The first train will pass the new tunnel in Q2 2018.
KYIV. Nov 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Public joint-stock company State Food-Grain Corporation is mulling the possibility of implementing joint project on modernization of elevators and building a new deep port terminal with China’s CCEC.
The corporation said in a press release on Monday that total investment would preliminary total near $500 million.
Some $25 million will be sent to modernize the Odesa grain terminal. This will help to increase its capacity and reduce expenses on loading of ships. After the modernization the company will be able to service ships of Panamax type, stop loading ships in the harbor and cut the freight cost. The operating capacity of the terminal would expand to 120,000 tonnes. This would allow accumulating cargo for around two ships.
Acting Board Chairman of State Food-Grain Corporation Oleksandr Hryhorovych said that $130 million will be invested in reconstruction of elevators and mills. This would cut production expense by over 35%.
The project envisages construction of new elevators in Kyiv and Vinnytsia regions with a total capacity of 150,000 tonnes.
The investment plan of the corporation includes the creation of additional facilities for grain handling thanks to construction of a new deep port elevators and reconstruction of existing berths. Almost $135 million will be sent to implement the project.
“After the completion of the construction project, the corporation would be able to operate a modern sea terminal with a possibility of loading ships with deadweight of up to 100,000 tonnes and an operation capacity of 300,000 tonnes. This would expand our entire annual grain loading capacity (water transport) to 5 million tonnes,” he said.
Over $160 million will be sent to the project to create own logistics division. It is planned to produce and buy railway grain carriers.
“We seek to buy almost 3,000 wagons. They would meet the corporation’s needs in shipping grain, reduce our operating expenses and minimize risks of a shortage of Ukrzaliznytsia’s wagons we see now,” he added.
KYIV. Nov 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The need in the main haulage cargo, passenger and shunting locomotives for 2017 is 2,492, while by 2025 the need would expand by some 16%, to 2,881 locomotives.
According to the press service of public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia, the company calculated that by 2025 the need in acquiring new main haulage locomotives is around 90 units, and new locomotives – around 460 units. The sector needs 230 of cargo electric DC locomotives, 160 cargo electric AC locomotives, 20 AC/DC locomotives for passenger transportation and 50 cargo AC/DC locomotives.
In November Ukrzaliznytsia’s specialists would propose to consider the strategy for upgrading the locomotive fleet until 2015 to the company’s board.
