HVG Law LLP (the Netherlands) will provide law services to national joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy related to the unbundling of the company and creation of a gas transport system (GTS) operator. According to a report in the ProZorro e-procurement system, the contract worth almost UAH 17 million (VAT included) was signed by the sides on December 27, 2018.
The expected cost of the services in the amount of UAH 65.522 million was reduced at the tender with nine bidders, which are international companies.
As reported, a legal analysis must be made for the compliance of the chosen method of separation of gas transportation activities with the requirements of the EU and Ukrainian legislation regarding the independence of the GTS operator.
The services also include providing advice and recommendations in the process of separating transportation activities in order to successfully certify the future operator in accordance with the requirements of the Third Energy Package and preparing necessary documents.
It is also the responsibility of the winner of the tender to provide recommendations on the best way to transfer to the future operator of the property, contracts, IT systems, permits and employees from the point of view of legal consequences for Naftogaz and the prospect of attracting a partner to the GTS management. In addition, the winner of the tender will participate in negotiations with potential partners of the GTS.
The sales of new cars in Ukraine in February grew by 22% compared to the same month in 2017, but decreased by 12% compared to January 2018, amounting to 5,800 units, AUTO-Consulting reports. “Nevertheless, over the two months the car market of Ukraine continues to demonstrate quite an impressive growth of 31%, but the demand structure has changed dramatically,” experts say.
In February, Volkswagen, which managed to get ahead of both Toyota and Renault, selling 815 cars, ranked first.
“Moreover, another brand of VW Group, Audi, climbed to the fourth place (from the ninth in January). Both brands posted a 40% rise in sales just over a month. In such an unexpected way the “dieselgate” influenced the Ukrainian market,” AUTO–Consulting said.
According to analysts, in February it became finally clear that the demand for low cost cars among private buyers is vanishingly small due to competition on the part of used car imports.
Similar statistics on car sales was released by the Ukrautoprom association, according to which the rise in sales was 21% from February 2017, to 5,900 vehicles.
Leadership was also given to Volkswagen, which ranked first due to the sale in Ukraine of diesel cars produced in 2015.
Astarta plans to build and put into operation a storage facility of 60,000 tonnes at Narkevychy sugar factory in Khmelnytsky region by 2020, the company’s press service has reported.
According to its information, in 2017 the holding also began the development of a water treatment plant project in the Globino industrial cluster of the company, which includes sugar and soybean processing plants, as well as a bioenergy complex.
“Globino is an industrially active region of Ukraine, where a significant number of manufacturing enterprises are located, and the amount of natural resources is limited. Therefore there appeared an idea to create a full-fledged sewage treatment plant under international standards. As early as this spring, preparatory work will begin,” the press service said.
The implementation of the project will allow to halve the use of surface water, reuse part of the purified water in a closed production cycle of these enterprises, and meet international environmental requirements.
Astarta is a vertically integrated agro-industrial holding operating in Poltava, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, and Kharkiv regions
Ukraine’s international reserves increased to $18.5 billion by the end of February from $18.443 billion at the beginning of the month, Oleh Churiy, the deputy head of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), has said.
“Today the reserves are approximately $18.5 billion, taking into account those interventions to buy foreign currency, which the NBU conducts almost daily,” he said during a monetary briefing in Kyiv.
Acting Head of the National Bank Yakiv Smolii, in turn, noted the victory of Naftogaz Ukrainy in Stockholm arbitration is although a positive factor for the dynamics of the country’s forex reserves, but the main source of their replenishment is cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other financial organizations.
“We cannot now say how Naftogaz will use the funds it has not yet received but only won in court. Therefore the continuation of cooperation with the IMF and obtaining next tranches is a prerequisite for replenishing foreign exchange reserves,” he said.
KAN Development LLC (Kyiv) plans to invest some $400 million in construction of the Respublika residential complex near the eponymous shopping and leisure center at 1, Kiltseva road in Kyiv. “Let’s calculate: if you take 800,000 square meters, then the amount of investment will be about $400 million. Of course, we will invest a part of this amount at the expense of attracted investors’ funds,” Honorary President of KAN Development Ihor Nikonov said during the presentation of the Respublika residential area on Wednesday.
According to him, first of all the project will include four houses, a public center and a kindergarten. It is planned to commission it in one and a half years. All the first floors will be given to the service sector.
In general, the Respublika multifunctional complex, including a residential part and an unfinished shopping and entertainment center, will be located on 100 hectares. According to Nikonov, the first part of the Respublika residential area project envisages the construction of 250,000 square meters of housing on 22 hectares during five or six years, then the rest of the land will be designed for new housing.
“The specific element of this project is that it will create the Academy of Sports from the very beginning. The academy will work from the first day of the opening of the first house. This is two basketball fields, two football fields, a children’s field and courts for Paddle-Tennis. The entire inventory and bicycles will be free of charge. There will also be a playground for walking of dogs with coaches,” Nikonov said.
Ireland’s Altostrata seeks to invest EUR 225 million in construction of a solar power plant in Dnipropetrovsk region.
“To attract investments and provide comfortable conditions for business is the task set by President Petro Poroshenko. Alternative energy projects have “green light.” Irish investors decided to invest in the construction of a solar power plant,” Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration Valentyn Reznichenko said during the signing of a memorandum between the Regional Administration and Altostrata on Thursday.
The construction of a 250 MW power plant is planned for an area of 500 hectares near the village of Levadky in Pavlohrad district. The plant could be launched in two years. It is planned that the plant will transmit electricity to more than 40,000 homes and enterprises, which is comparable to electricity consumption by Pavlohrad.
“We have a great interest in cooperation with Ukraine. We are starting a partnership in Dnipropetrovsk region. We have found support in the Investment and Innovation Center at the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Administration. An effective system has been created that stimulates investment,” Altostrata Director Torsten Merkel said, adding that the investor promises to create almost 450 new jobs.
Deputy Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Administration Oleh Kuzhman said that recently several investment projects in the sphere of alternative energy have been implemented in the region. In particular, solar power plants are already operating in Pidhorodne and Nikopol. The Irish company Altostrata is engaged in Clean Technology.
