KYIV. March 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman and Chairman of German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations Wolfgang Buchele at a meeting in Kyiv on Tuesday agreed to hold a Ukrainian-German business forum in Berlin in the second half of this year.
“It would be good to start preparations for this important forum as soon as possible. I think this is a very good idea that will bring a good overall result,” the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers quoted Groysman as saying.
The parties agreed on the creation of a working group that will prepare the forum and practical issues of implementing joint projects.
Discussing the practical issues of attracting investments from Germany, the premier noted that the Ukrainian government is interested in improving the business and investment climate in the country and is making the necessary efforts for this.
“We are working hard to create added value in Ukraine, to restructure the current model of the economy, and we are interested in deepening cooperation with German partners, which will enable us to increase production for domestic needs and strengthen export opportunities,” Groysman said.
He pointed out that Germany is one of Ukraine’s main trading partners in the European market. “Our bilateral trade and economic relations have achieved positive dynamics, but their potential has not been fully utilized,” the prime minister said.
He also praised the opening of the German-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which will contribute to deepening economic cooperation between Ukraine and Germany.
KYIV. March 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Ihor Nasalyk and the delegation of Korea’s Kokam have discussed the issue of building electric storage capacities, the ministry’s press service has said.
The ministry said the construction of such facilities in Ukraine would positively influence the integration of renewable energy sources into the energy system, make it easier to work in the conditions when the share of energy produced by nuclear power plants reaches 60%.
According to the ministry, now Ukrenergo and Free Energy Technologies are developing a pilot project for the creation of an electro-accumulating station.
As reported, previously the founder and CEO of Tesla, billionaire Elon Musk expressed readiness to build electric power storage systems in Ukraine at a price of $250/kW.
At present, Ukraine for energy accumulation uses only hydroelectric power stations, while Tesla and similar systems are based on “ordinary” accumulator batteries.
KYIV. March 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The construction of the Podilsko-Voskresensky bridge will be resumed in 2017, Head of Kyiv City State Administration Vitali Klitschko has stated.
“I’ve negotiated with Germany, we’ve attracted investors, German specialists, issued EUR200,000 for analytics, and next month the minister of infrastructure will come to Kyiv. I am sure we will get this matter moving and the construction of the bridge will begin this year,” Klitschko said on the air of 112 TV Channel.
“We should celebrate the launch of traffic on this bridge in three years,” the mayor added.
KYIV. March 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine has joined the memorandum of understanding on the start of cooperation with the Working Community of the Danube Countries (WCDC).
The press service of the Infrastructure Ministry reported that Minister Volodymyr Omelyan gave the information at a meeting with Austrian Ambassador to Ukraine Hermine Poppeller. The Ukrainian minister handed the memo to Austria at the meeting with the ambassador.
According to the report, in 2016, Austria initiated Ukraine’s joining the memo of understanding on the start of cooperation with WCDC in the person of Lower Austria (including Danube ports) and western Black Sea regions and ports, which was signed in February 2014.
Memo participants are regional administration of the western Black Sea region, specifically Odesa region (Ukraine), Galati and Costanza (Romania), Varna and Burgas (Bulgaria) and WCDC in the person of Lower Austria who then chaired the community.
The memo is aimed at strengthening cooperation and coordination of general economic development of the regions in cargo shipments and development of cooperation of adjacent river and sea ports. The parties will draw up joint projects and find mutually acceptable ways to finance them.
Leaders of Odesa region, Odesa and Chornomorsk city mayors, top managers of Ukrainian Sea Port Authority, Odesa maritime merchandise port and Chornomorsk maritime merchandise port signed the memo.
KYIV. March 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The creation of the Cyclone-4M space rocket complex in Canada by 2020 will be carried out within the commercial project of the space sector companies of Canada, the United States and Ukraine, the project will be funded by the Western investor, Pivdenne Design Bureau (Dnipro), the Ukrainian developer of space equipment, has said.
According to a report on the company’s website, a number of Canadian, American and Ukrainian companies will take part in the creation of the Cyclone-4M space rocket complex in Canada by 2020, recently announced by Canada’s Maritime Launch Services Ltd. (MLS).
Pivdenne design bureau will be responsible for the development, testing and operation of the carrier rocket and facilities and systems of the ground complex, Pivdenmash will be the supplier of Cyclone-4M launch complexes to MLS, the report says.
According to Pivdenne design bureau, the project will be financed by the Western partner: Maritime Launch Services Ltd. showed interest and on its own initiative plans to implement the project solely at the expense of its own funds and financial investments attracted from commercial sources, the report said.
KYIV. March 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk region) intends in 2017 to increase capital investments and financing for repairs, maintaining the equipment and buildings efficiency by 75% compared to 2016, to almost UAH 11 billion ($400 million) from UAH 6.3 billion of capital and operating investments in 2016.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih CEO Paramjit Kahlon said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine that in 2017 actual capital investments would amount to about $250 million, the rest would be repairs, maintenance of equipment and buildings.
“ArcelorMittal Group has started investing in production and is fulfilling its obligations. Most of the projects – about 70% – are aimed at renewing technologies or improving the environment: these are sewage treatment plants, etc.,” the top manager explained.
The director general stressed ArcelorMittal invests significant funds in Ukraine, in the enterprise, noting that investments in ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih until 2020will amount to about $1.2-1.5 billion.
“The main tasks of this stage of the investment program of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih are to increase production efficiency, replace obsolete equipment with new and environmentally safe, significantly improve the ecological situation both in Kryvy Rih and throughout the region,” the CEO said.
