The State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) has offered to build a cosmodrome outside the Curtin Air Base in Australia, according to the West Australian edition. According to it, the bid, first proposed to the State and Federal governments in 2016. “Ukraine has the technical expertise, supply chain and a long history in the global space race to back its offer,” Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia, Mykola Kulinich, told The West Australian.
The SSAU says it needs 5000 sq km to 7000 sq km of land on a commercial lease, preferably around the Curtin air base near Derby, to establish a spaceport.
It wants State and Federal government support to investigate land availability and tenure, environmental approvals, native title issues and other basic building blocks of the project.
According to the article, “construction of launch pads, hangars and support facilities could be funded through private investment, as well as contributions from Australia’s neighbours and allies.” “An initial study could be finished in a relatively short time frame, and for less than $500,000. A feasibility study to determine how much it would cost could be done within two years,” the on-line newspaper said.
The Board of Directors of Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) has approved payment of an interim dividend of $0.7492 per share, equivalent to approximately $80 million. According to a report of the company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the dividend will be paid to shareholders by the end of April 2018. As reported, net profit of MHP grew 3.3-fold last year, to $230 million compared with 2016. Revenue grew by 13.4%, to $1.288 billion.
MHP is the largest poultry producer in Ukraine. It is also engaged in production of grains, sunflower oil, and meat. The company supplies cooled halved carcasses of hens to the European market. They are processed there, including at its enterprises in the Netherlands and Slovakia.
Freight handling at Ukrainian seaports in January-February 2018 totaled 20.5 million tonnes, which is 4.6% more than a year ago, according to tentative data from the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority. According to its data, the volume of transshipment of imported cargo increased by 24.4% and amounted to 3.5 million tonnes. Handling of imported coal grew by 26.6%, to 1 million tonnes, ores by 8.7%, to 1.1 million tonnes, oilseeds – by 89.2%, to 50,000 tonnes, while crude oil transshipment fell by 1.8%, to 80,000 tonnes and fuel – by 23.5%, to 70,000 tonnes.
The volume of transshipment of exported cargo decreased 3.4%, to 14.9 million tonnes. Handling of exported ferrous metals grew by 8%, to 2.8 million tonnes, while exported grain handling fell by 1.3%, to 5.9 million tonnes.
Handling of transit freights rose by 54.1%, to 1.9 million tonnes.
Transshipment of freights in containers was 7% more than in January-February 2017, reaching 1.592 million tonnes.
In general, the seaports of Ukraine processed 1,850 vessels in January-February 2018, which is 469 vessels, or 34% more compared to the same period in 2017.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman will meet with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on March 12, the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has reported.
According to the report, Groysman and Mogherini will hold a briefing as part of the meeting.
On March 12, Mogherini will also meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. During the meeting, the sides will discuss security in Donbas and prospects for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force. In addition, the parties will coordinate their positions regarding the non-recognition of illegal Russian presidential elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Crimea and Sevastopol.
Earlier, the press office of the EU Delegation to Ukraine reported that Mogherini would meet with Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and Minister for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons Vadym Chernysh.
In addition, the High Representative will meet with Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, the Chief Monitor of the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission, Martin Sajdik, the OSCE’s Special Representative to the Trilateral Contact Group, and Alain Aeschlimann, Head of the Mission to Ukraine of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to address the situation on the ground and the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
While in Kyiv, the High Representative will also speak to students at the Taras Shevchenko University, meet with representatives of civil society organizations, and with members of staff of the European Union’s Advisory Mission and the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
