The Turkish developer Bosphorus Development continues to invest in its first project in Ukraine – the construction of the Maxima Residence residential complex in Kyiv (30 Konovaltsia Street), said Mehmet Vahit Sachaklioglu, founder and chairman of the supervisory board of Bosphorus Development, in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“We started working on the Maxima Residence residential complex in Kyiv a few months before the outbreak of the full-scale war. This is our first development project in Ukraine. We are implementing it in partnership with the Ukrainian company RIEL. The Russian invasion slightly adjusted our plans, but did not stop the work,” said Sachaklioglu.
Maxima Residence is a business-class residential complex with 486 apartments, built in accordance with international standards and environmental regulations.
“Our architects have put a lot of effort into making it convenient for all residents: modern apartment layouts, well-thought-out common areas, recreation and sports areas, playgrounds, interesting landscape design solutions,” said Sachaklioglu, emphasizing that the Turkish company seeks to apply more than 50 years of experience gained in the implementation of more than 100 projects.
He also noted that the principles of inclusion have been followed – special paths and handrails for people with limited mobility have been integrated into the infrastructure of the complex.
The three-section residential complex, according to the class of real estate, has a stylish lobby, a children’s playroom for different age groups, a multipurpose lounge area with a terrace, a coworking space and a separate space for business meetings, as well as a fitness room for residents of the complex. A two-level underground parking is planned and the principle of “yard without cars” will be applied.
According to Sachaklioglu, sales began in June this year, and since then prices have increased by 10% (according to LUN, currently 52.7 thousand UAH/sq. m.). About 120 apartments are available for investors in the first and second sections. Sales in the third section are not yet open.
According to the schedule, the construction of the third and last section of the complex will be completed in the 4th quarter of 2025.
“Our company is investing in the construction of Maxima Residence as much as it takes to implement the project in a high-quality and timely manner. Ukraine is a country of favorable location, great opportunities, and a promising future. Yes, it is risky to start new projects now. However, we have resumed the construction of Maxima Residence, which employs hundreds of specialists, pays taxes to the budget, and supports the Ukrainian economy. This is necessary to show other foreign companies and investors that it is now profitable to invest in Ukraine and there is no need to be afraid,” said Sachaklioglu.
Bosphorus Development plans to implement residential and commercial projects in Ukraine.
“I can’t tell you the details, because the situation is changing every day, and it is difficult to predict future prospects. However, I would like to note that we already have a considerable land bank in Ukraine, which is still formed from plots located mainly in the central part of Kyiv. We are also considering the possibility of implementing projects in Europe and the United States in the near future. We are currently studying these markets,” he said.
Bosphorus Development is one of the top ten development companies in Turkey. Since 1970, it has implemented more than 100 projects with a total area of more than 5 million square meters. Its landmark projects include the Istanbul Tower 205 skyscraper, Country Life Residence, Arcadium Life Residence, Real Life Residence, Blue Lake Residence, Historia Mall and Aqua Florya Mall, Crowne Plaza Hotel Florya, and Koru Florya Residence & Mall, a themed aquarium.
In 2019, Mehmet Vahit Sachaklioglu, a representative of the family business, founded Bosphorus Development Joint Stock Company in Ukraine and headed its Supervisory Board.
The shareholders of Mir Insurance Company (Kyiv) will consider renaming the company to Pobeda Insurance Company at a meeting on October 23, according to the agenda of the meeting published in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC).
According to the agenda, the shareholders also plan to consider adding such activities as reinsurance and insurance agents and brokers to the CEAs of the company, which are listed in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs. The company also plans to change its location.
As reported, IC Mir was registered in 1992 and specializes in risk insurance.
According to the data published on the company’s website, the owner of 79.9% of the company’s shares is ABC Finance LLC, and 13.299% is owned by Vladimir Babko.
October in Ukraine will be warmer than last year, and the first snow will fall in mid-November, predicts Vazira Martazinova, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences in Meteorology.
“Last year, October was warm until the end of the month. This year, the temperature will be even higher,” Martazinova said at a briefing on Wednesday.
According to her, in the western part of Ukraine, the weather in October will be 2-4 degrees above normal.
“The average monthly temperature is about 8 degrees. This means +12-13 degrees. In the rest of the country, even higher temperatures are expected in October: it could be around +12-15 degrees,” Martazinova said.
She also noted that half of November will also be warmer than in 2022, and the first snow will fall in mid-November, but will melt immediately.
“We can expect the first snow in the pre-winter period. Pre-winter is mid-November. It will fall and disappear. That will be the first snow. And then the next snow will be the same,” Martazinova said.
The volume of construction work performed in Ukraine in January-June 2023 increased by 43.8% compared to the same period in 2022 to UAH 53.1 billion, according to the State Statistics Service (Ukrstat).
According to the statistics agency, in June 2023, the construction work index was 138.6% of the June 2022 figure. At the same time, the index increased by 4.5% in June compared to May this year.
According to the State Statistics Service, the growth of construction work in the first half of this year compared to January-June 2022 was observed in all segments of construction. Thus, in residential construction, the indicator increased by 14.2% to UAH 8.92 billion, in non-residential construction – by 32.3% to UAH 13.67 billion, in the category of engineering structures – by 62.46% to UAH 30.59 billion.
The share of new construction in the total volume of construction work was 44.3%, repairs – 32.8%, reconstruction and other works – 22.9%.
The State Statistics Service notes that the publication of the data was postponed due to martial law. The statistical data exclude the temporarily occupied territory and parts of the territory where military operations are (were) conducted.
In January-August this year, Ukrainian enterprises increased their consumption of rolled metal products by 92.46% year-on-year to 2.322 million tons.
According to a press release issued by Ukrmetallurgprom, 706.5 thousand tons, or 30.43% of the domestic rolled metal consumption market, were imported during this period.
According to Ukrmetallurgprom, in January-August 2023, Ukrainian steelmakers produced 3.406 million tons of rolled steel (76.1% compared to the same period in 2022), of which, according to the Expert and Scientific Council of UAVtormet, about 1.791 million tons, or 52.6%, were exported. In the same period of 2022, the share of exports amounted to about 80.3% (3.595 million tons with a total production of 4.477 million tons of rolled metal products).
The share of semi-finished products in export deliveries for the first eight months of 2023 amounted to 43.59%, which is comparable to the same period in 2022 (44.21%). The share of flat products in exports in the first eight months of 2023 is significantly lower than in January-August 2022 (34.92% and 38.20%, respectively). The share of long products in export deliveries for the first eight months of 2023 is significantly higher than in the same period of 2022 (21.50% in 2023 vs. 17.60% in 2022).
“In January-August 2023, the domestic market capacity amounted to 2.322 million tons of rolled steel, of which 706.5 thousand tons or 30.43% were imported. In the same period of 2022, the domestic market capacity amounted to 1 million 206.5 thousand tons, of which 324.7 thousand tons, or 26.91%, were imported. Thus, in the first eight months of 2023, there was an increase in the domestic market capacity by 92.46% compared to January-August 2022, with a simultaneous increase in the share of the import component by 3.51%,” the press release states.
The structure of imports in January-August 2023 is characterized by a significant dominance of flat products over long products (75.41% and 24.50%, respectively); in the same period of 2022, the dominance of flat products over long products was slightly lower, but also noticeable (59.04% and 39.27%, respectively).
The main export markets for Ukrainian steel products in January-August 2023, according to the data of the United National Research and Production Association “UVTORMET”, are the countries of the European Union (85.5%) and the rest of Europe (7.1%).
Among metallurgical importers in the first eight months of 2023, the first place is occupied by other European countries (38.6%), the second by the EU-27 (38.4%), and the third by Asian countries (20.6%).
EU countries may start official negotiations with Ukraine on EU membership as early as December, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said in an interview with The Guardian.
“If they are moving fast, we must match that speed,” she said.
Metsola wants formal negotiations to begin before Christmas, The Guardian writes. The decision rests with EU ministers, who will hold a formal meeting in December after a public report on Ukraine’s progress in reforming the judiciary, fighting corruption and opening markets is presented in October.
“I expect a concrete result, because the worst signal could be that we have set tasks and deadlines for these people that we cannot fulfill ourselves,” Metsola said.
According to her, the European Union has to start large-scale changes to prepare for Ukraine’s accession. At the same time, “nothing should be ruled out,” including the elimination of trade tariffs and granting Kyiv access to internal markets before full accession.
At the same time, the newspaper emphasizes, Metsola, like some other EU leaders, believes that the bloc needs to speed up access for Ukraine and the Balkan countries that have also applied in order to limit the risk of Russian interference in these former Soviet territories.
