KYIV. Aug 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is mulling a EUR 10 million loan to the district heating utility municipally owned enterprise Chernivtsiteplokomunenergo, operating in the city of Chernivtsi, the EBRD said in a statement.
The funds will be used to finance the installation of individual heating sub-stations, biofuel boilers, network replacement with pre-insulated pipes, modernization of boilers and control systems, and the installation of monitoring and dispatching system in the city, the EBRD said.
The EBRD finance includes EUR 7 million in an EBRD loan to the company, and EUR 3 million from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), both secured by a municipal guarantee of the city.
The project is expected to be co-financed by a grant of up to EUR 4 million from the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P).
The project is to be co-financed by a local contribution of up to EUR 2 million.
The total cost for the feasibility study assignment was EUR 180,000 financed under the Ukraine District Heating Project Preparation Framework by the government of Sweden. The estimated total cost for the IFRS audit assignment is EUR 20,000, proposed to be financed by the EBRD’s own resources.
What is more, the company’s corporate development program to improve financial and operational performance of the company. The estimated total cost for the assignment is EUR 250,000, proposed to be financed by a bilateral or multilateral donor or the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund (SSF).
The estimated total cost for project implementation support covering procurement advisory services, implementation support and contract supervision is EUR 450,000, proposed to be financed by a bilateral or multilateral donor or the SSF.
KYIV. Aug 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine intends to speed up repairs on its thermal power plants and to increase the capacity of electricity supplies to Poland by 400 MW, Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn has said.
At the moment, the capacity of power supplies from Burshtyn thermal power plant to Poland is 600 MW, the ministry’s press service said quoting Demchyshyn.
Demchyshyn added that Ukraine currently itself imports electricity from Russia under the previously signed contract.
“The contract has worked exactly as planned – as insurance against force majeure, and imports will be stopped as soon as we restore our own capacity,” he stressed.
The minister also said that the group of experts left for private thermal power plants (TPPs) to check if the currently unscheduled repairs are expedient. The ministry is also conveying to DTEK the need to ensure a more even provision of its power plants with coal.
“Apart from the problems of the TPPs, we now have a very low production on hydroelectric power plants due to low water levels. The hydroelectric power plants on the Dnipro River generally have the lowest level of power generation in history. However, the lessons of the heating season were not in vain, and we are ready for this situation,” the minister summed up.
As reported, Poland imposed restrictions on electricity consumption due to heat.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk earlier instructed the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry in connection with the critical situation in the energy system of Poland to take urgent measures to ensure the highest technically possible supply of electricity to Polish power grids.
KYIV. Aug 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The National Bank of Ukraine intends by the end of the year to increase international reserves to at least $15 billion to implement the world’s recognized indicator of reserves adequacy to cover three months of imports, NBU Head Valeriya Gontareva has said in an interview with the Focus magazine.
“We plan by the end of the year to increase forex reserves to $18 billion. This is certainly ambitious plans, while the minimum objective for us is $15 billion, which cover three months of imports,” she said.
Speaking about cleaning the banking system, the NBU head noted it has been completed. Now the National Bank moves to the second stage: to restart it, while seeking a full disclosure of the structure of their ultimate owners.
“We consider 44 banks as non-transparent. In the course of analysis this figure could increase. Of these 44 banks two have been recognized problem, 14 banks got a notification from us that their ownership structures are officially recognized as non-transparent,” Gontareva said.
As reported, the NBU international reserves in July increased by $112 million, or by 1.1%, to $10.375 billion. In early August the National Bank received the $1.7 billion second tranche of the EFF program from the International Monetary Fund.
KYIV. Aug 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Cattle numbers in Ukraine (excluding the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the ATO zone) as of August 1, 2015 amounted to 4.403 million animals, which is 7.1% less compared to the same period in 2014.
According to the State Statistics Service, the number of cows during this period decreased by 6.2% and amounted to 2.226 million animals.
The number of pigs fell by 3.3%, to 7.724 million animals, sheep and goats by 6%, to 1.726 million animals.
Poultry numbers in the country compared to August 1, 2014 decreased by 4.8%, amounting to 248.765 million birds.
KYIV. Aug 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Chinese investors intend to build a port elevator of 50,000-100,000 tonnes in Ukraine, First Deputy Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food Yaroslav Krasnolsky has said.
“As a result of our meetings, we do not have a signed protocol. Envoys have arrived in Ukraine and they are ready to build an elevator for 50,000-100,000 tonnes and raise $2.5 billion from the Chinese side. This concerns a port elevator,” he said at a briefing in Kyiv.
According to him, the relevant agreements were achieved during a visit of the Ukrainian delegation to China. In the near future representatives of Chinese state-owned companies are expected to come to establish cooperation with Ukrainian companies.
According to the ministry, in 2014 the share of agricultural products in the total goods turnover in China amounted to 29% (the total turnover stood at $2.7 billion).
KYIV. Aug 13 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine has applied for pumping 1,963 cubic meters of natural gas from Hungary on August 11, according to data from the Hungarian gas transportation system operator FGSZ.
Ukrtransgaz confirmed the receipt of an application for 100,000 cubic meters in August.
“One application in the amount of 100,000 cubic meters was received for August for the Hungarian direction. It is recorded on the balance sheet account, and as soon as the sufficient gas volume, at which it is possible to provide measurement, is accumulated, pumping will be performed,” the head of the PR department at PJSC Ukrtransgaz, Maksym Beliavsky, said.
As reported, Ukraine suspended gas imports from Hungary from July 1. In June, the daily gas transportation was 2.6-2.7 million cubic meters of gas.
Ukraine in January-July 2015 reduced natural gas imports by 27.2% compared to the same period in 2014, to 10.7 billion cubic meters. In particular, 6.9 billion cubic meters, or about two-thirds, were supplies from Europe, and 3.8 billion cubic meters, or about one-third, from Russia.
