KYIV. Dec 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – A European Vega light-haul launch vehicle powered by a Ukrainian engine successfully brought the Turkish Defense Ministry’s Gokturk-1 satellite into orbit from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana, South America, the Ukrainian State Space Agency said in a report.
The launch performed at 15:51 Kyiv time on Monday was the eighth mission in the Vega program and the second Vega launch of 2016, the report said.
The Vega was designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for carrying satellites with a weight up to 1,200 kilos to a 1,200-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit and satellites with a weight of 1,500 kilograms to a 700-kilometer polar orbit. The RD-868P cruise engine for the fourth stage of the rocket was developed by the Yuzhnoye (Pivdenne) Design Bureau and built by the Yuzhmash (Pivdenmash) Plant (both situated in the city of Dnipro, Ukraine).
The trial launch of a Vega LV was successfully accomplished in February 2012, and the ESA commenced use of the new rocket in May 2013.
The Ukrainian government and the ESA signed an agreement on cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space in 2008. The ESA unites 17 European countries.
The medium-term plans announced by the Ukrainian State Space Agency in 2015 include Ukraine’s gradual entry into the ESA and integration of the Ukrainian rocket and space industry with the European one.
KYIV. Dec 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – One of the topics of the economic forum in Davos to be held in January 2017 will be the fourth industrial revolution, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said.
“One of the topics of the Davos Forum to be held in January 2017 is devoted to the fourth industrial revolution – so-called Economy 4.0,” Klimkin wrote in his blog in Novoye Vremia online publication on Tuesday.
The minister also said that on December 8 the Council of Exporters and Investors at Foreign Ministry jointly with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine will hold expert debates entitled “Global digital transformation: chances for Ukraine and prospects of Economy 4.0.”
KYIV. Dec 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kyiv authorities seeks to find around UAH 23 billion to modernize the overland transport network and infrastructure and similar programs by 2019.
The information is outlined in the updated action plan for 2016-2018 to implement Kyiv development strategy by 2025. The plan was approved by lawmakers of Kyiv City Council on November 15, 2016.
Some UAH 78.5 million will be sent to develop bicycle infrastructure and UAH 82 million in 2018. The streets are to be reconstructed to create bicycle routes, equip bicycle parking areas and other things. The funds will be raised from Kyiv’s budget and other sources.
In addition, it is planned to buy 215 trolleybuses, 235 buses and 63 trams by 2019 to implement the urban transport upgrade scenarios designed by experts from the World Bank. The total cost of the purchase is UAH 6.507 billion using funds of the city budget and other sources.
The city intends to build a dual-mode high-speed Tram-Train system Troyeschyna-Berezniaky-Karavayevy Dachi. Near UAH 2.106 billion will be spent on it by 2019.
The passenger flow for the line could reach 264,500 of persons a day. This equals to the daily passenger flow on the Syretsko-Pecherska subway line or the absolute passenger flow for crossing the Dnipro River. The funds of the city budget and other sources will be used to finance the project.
Some UAH 7.56 billion of budget funds or funds from other sources will be spent on purchase of rolling stock for the Tram-Train line: 80 five-section wagons with low decks.
It is planned to build the high-speed trolleybus line Troyeschyna-Chokolivka with the passenger flow of 141,000 people a day. Around UAH 810 million would be spent in two years. Some 97 long articulated trolleybuses for UAH 719.7 million will be bought.
Near UAH 250 million would be sent to take measures to develop public transport stops during two years.
Kyiv wants to repair the tram line in Dmytriyivska and Hlybochytska streets with the transfer hubs in Lukianivska Street and Kontraktova Square for UAH 515 million.
Among other projects is the completion of the Podilsky Bridge. Some UAH 3.315 billion is envisaged for the project in 2017-2018. The unused funds for the project are estimated at UAH 7.46 billion.
The Nyvky-Telychka-Brovary highway will be built for UAH 2.51 billion and some UAH 936 million will be sent for the project in 2017-2018.
Near UAH 20 million will be sent to introduce the automated parking system in two years and UAH 20 million to introduce intellectual traffic systems in the streets.
KYIV. Dec 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Mobile communications operators lifecell has signed a memorandum of cooperation with Ericsson and Huawei to develop 4G mobile communications in Ukraine.
Ericsson Ukraine CEO Wojciech Bajda said that the first phase of cooperation will be proposing ideas and models to introduce 5G services in Ukraine. The next phase the sides would focus on work with the technical part of the implementation of the 5G pilot launch project in Ukraine.
“I think that testing 5G is the simplest aspect of our work. It is required more time to prepare the business models and understand what services and software are suitable for Ukraine,” he said.
Chairman of the National Commission for Communications and Informatization Regulation (NCCR) Oleksandr Zhyvotovsky said that the state would help to conduct tests.
“I think that 4G will be introduced in Ukraine in 2017, and 5G – in 2019-2020,” he said.
Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine for administrative, social and economic reforms Dmytro Shymkiv said that it is useful for Ukraine to be put on the list of countries that would first test 5G in the world.
“I am thankful to Ericsson, Huawei and lifecell for including Ukraine in the list of those 10-15 countries where experiments with 5G technologies will be done. Knowledge and skills received during the tests would help Ukraine to be more competitive on the telecom market… This gives us a competitive advantage in the long-term outlook,” he said.
KYIV. Dec 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Transgrainterminal LLC, part of Kernel Group, seeks to finish building a grain terminal at the Chornomorsk maritime merchandise port by late 2018.
The press service of the port’s administration reported on Tuesday that the company signed a long-term agreement to lease rearward areas of berths 14 and 15 and upper rearward areas of the Chornomorsk port state-run enterprise. The total area where the facilities will be built is 53,000 square meters. Ships will be loaded at berths 14 and 15.
The grain terminal projects includes a on-the-floor grain storage warehouse with a capacity of 140,000 tonnes with two underground and one upper galleries, the grain receiving line for railway transport, a complex of galleries, tracks and weighs, metal silos for storing grain with a capacity of 170,000 tonnes.
Today the key port asset of Kernel is Transbulkterminal grain terminal. Its annual capacity is 4 million tonnes. The terminal has silos with a storage capacity of around 190,000 tonnes of grain.
KYIV. Dec 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Pfeifer & Langen (Germany) is completing the acquisition of six sugar factories in Ternopil region previously owned by T-Tsukor holding.
“Yes, we buy these six plants,” Radekhiv Sugar LLC Head Vitaliy Sikorsky told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, after the bankruptcy of Mriya agricultural holding, the owner of which together with T-Tsukor was the Huta family, the property of sugar mills was pledged as security for loans at Prominvestbank and passed into the ownership of the bank.
“In the crisis period for the industry enterprises, the bank found the best solution to support the business – the production facilities of the sugar factories will move to the core investor,” he added.
T-Tsukor included Borschiv, Buchach, Zbarazh, Kozova, Lanivtsi and Khoroskov sugar factories (Ternopil region), as well as Horodenka sugar refinery (Ivano-Frankivsk region).
Pfeifer & Langen is a large European producer of sugar. The company, in particular, owns sugar factories in Germany, Poland, Romania, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.
