JSC Ukrzaliznytsia notes an increase in passenger traffic and ticket sales since the beginning of 2021 compared to the autumn-winter period of 2020.
According to chairman of the board Volodymyr Zhmak, in the first week of February 2021 the company carried 357,600 passengers, which is 40% more than in mid-December 2020, and the number of tickets sold increased by 9%, to almost 440,000.
“The trend has begun to change – we are increasing passenger traffic and ticket sales compared to the autumn months of 2020. Of course, we are far from the pre-COVID level, but we are moving in a positive trend. Thanks to what? Thanks to innovative approaches to the formation of new trains, the opening of new routes, optimization of traffic – we are reducing the time for trains on many routes,” Zhmak said.
The Cabinet of Ministers has transferred eight state-owned enterprises to the management of the State Property Fund (SPF): Ecotransenergo, Kharkiv Industrial and Trade Enterprise, State Scientific and Technological Production Enterprise Veresk, Settlement and Clearing Center, Industrial and Metallurgical Consulting, state-owned enterprise State Information Analytics, Polupanivka Quarry, as well as the state institution Partner Fund.
The resolution was adopted by the government at a meeting on Wednesday without discussion.
According to an explanatory note to the draft resolution, out of these enterprises, as of July 1, 2020, only three were economically active. These are Ecotransenergo, Kharkiv Industrial and Trade Enterprise, and State Information Analytics.
The total value of Ecotransenergo’s assets as of in the middle of 2020 was estimated at UAH 47 million, Kharkiv Industrial and Trade Enterprise – UAH 22 million, while the value of their assets in the first half of 2020 fell by 6.5% and 3%, respectively, according to the document.
In the first half of last year, both companies posted losses totaling over UAH 4 million, while Ecotransenergo also has wage arrears of over UAH 1.7 million.
As indicated in the explanatory note, there is no data on the activities of SOE State Information Analytics.
The United States will continue to work with Ukraine on a wide range of common interests, U.S. Charge d’Affaires in Ukraine Kristina Kvien has said.
“As President Biden’s administration has affirmed, the United States remains committed to Ukraine as one of our closest partners and friends, and we continue to work together across the full range of our extensive mutual interest,” Kvien said in a video statement at Kyiv Security Forum hosted by Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s Open Ukraine Foundation on Wednesday.
According to U.S. Charge d’Affaires, today it can be recognized that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has faced challenges on the way to resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine and fighting corruption, which causes “a significant obstacle to inclusive economic growth and Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration.”
“On fight against corruption, we have witnessed persistent attacks by vested interests who seek to undermine the independence and effectiveness of Ukraine’s anticorruption infrastructure, and an effort to avoid accountability for their corrupt behavior,” the diplomat said.
Kvien commended the Verkhovna Rada’s adoption in the first reading of the reform of the Security Service of Ukraine, as well as Zelensky’s commitment to conduct a comprehensive judicial reform, which is a very necessary step to reduce corruption in Ukraine.
She said the main directions of the U.S. policy towards Ukraine have broad bipartisan support in Washington. “United States should, in coordination with international financial institutions, EU and G7 continue to provide assistance to help Ukraine build modern democratic economy that is fully compatible with EU standards and norms. That assistance should be linked to effective reform measures,” the U.S. Charge d’Affaires in Ukraine said.
She recalled that since 2014, the United States has provided assistance to Ukraine totaling $4.5 billion and pledged that the United States will continue to provide this assistance to advance reforms and strengthen security.
Kvien said the new U.S. leadership is actively supporting Ukraine, as discussed by U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. She also said that recently it was announced that Ihor Kolomoisky was included in the sanctions list.
Initial registrations in Ukraine of used cars imported from abroad in January-February 2021 amounted to almost 53,000 cars, which is 4.4 times higher than registrations of new cars for the same period of 2020, according to the Ukrautoprom association.
According to the information on the association’s website, in February, 27,400 imported used cars were registered for the first time, and the share of these cars amounted to 81% of the primary passenger car market, taking into account new ones, which amounted to 33,700 cars.
Last month, the most popular brand in customs cleared used cars was Volkswagen (4,599 cars), followed by Ford (2,609 cars), and Renault (2,233 cars).
The fourth place belongs to Skoda with the registration of 2,173 cars, and Hyundai with 1,775 car registrations closes the five most popular brands of February.
As reported, in January-February 2020, the registration of used imported cars amounted to 61,000 cars – 4.4 times more than new ones, and for the whole last year the demand for them exceeded the market of new cars by 4.1 times, to 353,400 cars.
Boryspil International Airport in January-February 2021 reduced passenger traffic to 672,100 people, which is 65.5% less than in January-February 2020.
As the press service of the airport told Interfax-Ukraine, on international flights, in particular, passenger traffic amounted to 606,500 people (less by 66.2%), on domestic – 65,600 people (less by 57.4%).
In February 2021, passenger traffic amounted to 338,300 people (less by 62.4%), of which on international flights – 305,500 people (less by 63.1%), and on domestic flights – 32,800 people (less by 55.1%).
According to the press release, in general, in January-February 2021, the airport served 6,648 flights (less by 54.5%) for arrival/departure, including international – 5,185 flights (less by 59.4%), and domestic – 1,463 flights (less by 21%). At the same time, in February, the number of serviced flights was 3,168 (less by 54.4%) for arrival/departure, including international – 2,477 flights (less by 58.9%), and domestic – 691 flights (less by 24.6%).
The volume of cargo handled by the airport in two months of 2021 decreased by 15.8%, to 5,700 tonnes.
From arrival flights, 4,067 tonnes were handled (6.6% less than in the same month of the previous year), and for departure flights – almost 1,626 tonnes (32.4% less). At the same time, only 101 kg (97.4% less) on arrival and 779 kg (94.8% less) on departure were handled on domestic flights. Everything else is international.
The volume of serviced mail amounted to 968.3 tonnes, which is 37.8% less than in January-February 2020. The volume of arrived postal items decreased by 58.3% (to 410.1 tonnes), and the number of postal items sent from Ukraine decreased by 2.7% (to 558.2 tonnes).
Boryspil International Airport is the largest airport in Ukraine with a total occupied area of about 1,000 hectares. It has two runways: the one is 4,000 meters long and 60 meters wide, the second is 3,500 meters long and 63 meters wide. There are four passenger terminals and a postal and cargo complex on its territory.
UDP Renewables, whose strategic investor is the holding company UFuture, has joined the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, which was established by the European Commission under the Green 402 GW New Hydrogen Production Capacity Initiative. This step was the beginning of the formation of a new direction of the company’s activities in the field of innovative projects for the installation of “green” hydrogen technology.
The company’s project portfolio currently includes solar and wind energy projects with a total capacity of 570 MW, which allows the implementation of the installation of hydrogen technology on an industrial scale.
The alliance’s priorities are to meet the demand for hydrogen as the main source of energy and to attract investment for decarbonization projects. The Alliance consists of national energy and transnational companies, research institutions, and the European Investment Bank. Leading European energy and industrial companies such as Electricité de France (EDF), E.ON SE, BMW Group, General Electric, AREVA H2Gen, Airbus SAS, Alstom, BASF SE, Bosch Group have joined the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, and more than two dozen Ukrainian companies.
“Our company is closely monitoring the development of hydrogen technology, because it is the next level of innovation in energy and strategy to provide humanity with resources for life. UDP Renewables’ entry into the alliance is one of such steps, it is a look beyond the horizon and an opportunity to receive information about technologies from its developers and pioneers in the industry,” said Serhiy Yevtushenko, managing partner of UDP Renewables.
Today, the investment potential of the hydrogen market in European countries is estimated at 470 billion euros by 2050. In July 2020, the European Commission presented the “Hydrogen Strategy for Climate-Neutral Europe”. Ukraine received a quota for the installation of 10 GW of hydrogen capacity, which became the basis for the active development of a new energy sector.
UDP Renewables is implementing new approaches and energy innovations to reduce the carbon footprint and for a clean future for future generations.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
UDPRenewables is an investment and development company in the Ukrainian renewable energy sector. With diversification in the type of renewable power generation and geography, by 2022 UDP Renewables strives to become one of the largest producers of clean energy in Ukraine, with a total capacity of more than 300 MW.
UFuture is a holding company of Ukrainian entrepreneur Vasyl Khmelnytsky, which has a diversified portfolio of assets in the fields of real estate, infrastructure, industry, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and IT. In particular, UFuture is a strategic investor in UDP Renewables. UFuture’s assets are valued at $500 million, and the total capitalization of the businesses in which it has invested is up to $1 billion.
