An independent energy system, cheap energy is the main goal that Ukraine is striving for, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said during a meeting devoted to the development of infrastructure and the energy sector on Wednesday.
According to the press service of the head of state, the meeting chaired by Zelensky was attended by Head of the President’s Office Andriy Yermak, Deputy Heads of the President’s Office Yulia Svyrydenko and Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy, Acting Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Yuriy Vitrenko, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing and Utilities Services Andriy Gerus.
“An independent energy system, cheap energy is the main goal that Ukraine is striving for. Every Ukrainian should feel energy security and receive socially fair bills for provision of energy services,” Zelensky said.
In turn, Vitrenko said that he is working closely with the Ministry of Digital Transformation to create affordable and effective electronic services for consumers. He also said that Ukraine will put energy efficiency to a new qualitative level and will actively work on integration with the European Union in this area.
In addition, Krykliy said how the road infrastructure is being modernized and brought to the level of EU standards.
“The roads are being built according to European standards. We are introducing automatic control of the weight and speed of vehicles, rebuilding airports, working as a team to sign the Common Aviation Area Agreement with the EU. Our goal is also to eliminate monopoly in the transport system,” Krykliy said.
In addition, he said that his ministry is working to increase the share of transportation using inland waterways, liberalize, digitalize transport service markets, and simplify the working environment for business.
The meeting participants also discussed the provision of lighting for Ukrainian highways and roads, on which the Ministry of Infrastructure will work together with the Ministry of Energy.
“Ukraine should have a modern and safe infrastructure, integrated into the global transport system, which ensures high mobility of the population. This was part of my election program, and this is supported by the Ukrainians,” Zelensky said.
Bolt, a ride-hailing service, has raised EUR 20 million of investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to increase access to mobility services in Eastern Europe (including Ukraine) and Africa (Nigeria and South Africa), the press service of the company reported on Thursday.
“Technology can and should unlock new pathways for sustainable development… Our investment in Bolt aims to help tap in to technology to disrupt the transport sector in a way that is good for the environment… and provides safer and more affordable transportation access in emerging markets,” IFC Chief Operating Officer Stephanie von Friedeburg said in a statement.
“We are looking forward to partnering with IFC to further support entrepreneurship… and increase access to affordable mobility services in Africa and Eastern Europe. Together with the investment from the European Investment Bank last year, we are proud to have sizeable and strategically important institutions backing us and recognising the strategic value Bolt is providing to emerging economies,” Bolt CEO Markus Villig said.
In Ukraine, Bolt ride-hailing service was launched in summer 2018.
A team of Ukrainian researchers, which included scientists from JSC Farmak pharmaceutical company and the Hromashevsky Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases, have developed a PCR test capable of detecting even new strains of the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus. According to the company’s press release, the availability of technological equipment purchased by Farmak allowed for the first time in Ukraine to carry out the sequencing procedure. This is “reading” the sequence of nucleotides in the RNA of the virus “as spelling a text.”
“Sequencing allows, in case of revealing differences in the genetic text (mutations), to draw conclusions about the presence of new strains of the virus. The results of the study, in fact, confirmed the presence of a new strain of coronavirus in Ukraine,” the researchers said.
The results of the study, as well as information about the virus strains circulating in Ukraine since the beginning of the pandemic, have already been posted in the GISAID international initiative promoting the rapid sharing of data from all influenza viruses and the coronavirus causing COVID-19.
Farmak said that on March 3, the research team confirmed that the new PCR test system developed by the pharmaceutical company’s specialists, in addition to the already widespread strains, also detects the new UK variant of coronavirus.
The Farmak test system was based on the TaqPath COVID 19 RT PCR Kit (Thermo Scientific, the United States), which is authorized by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA). High quality components made in the United States are used for the production of the new SARS-CoV-2 test kit.
The quality of the new test kit is confirmed by the relevant findings of the Hromashevsky Institute of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv) and the Mechnikov Institute of Microbiology and Immunology of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine (Kharkiv). Reference trials of the PCR test kit are carried out in private and public laboratories in Ukraine (Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Vinnytsia), confirming its effectiveness.
Farmak said that the new test kit has opened up to pre-purchasing.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the National Economic Strategy until 2030.
The corresponding decision was made at a government meeting on Wednesday.
“The National Economic Strategy-2030 is a comprehensive document that should lead Ukraine to the club of developed and successful countries. The strategy was developed with the involvement of experts, scientists, officials, MPs. This will become a significant contribution to the development of a successful, wealthy and European Ukraine,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is quoted by the government’s press service.
It is reported that more than 500 participants have joined the creation of the Strategy: representatives of more than 20 analytical centers, more than 30 business associations, 40 executive authorities, the expert environment and civil society, and MPs.
The document defines strategic steps for the development of industry, agricultural sector, mining, infrastructure, transport, energy sector, information and communication technologies, creative industries and services.
The Strategy also takes into account important cross-cutting areas – digitalization, Green Deal, entrepreneurship development and balanced regional development.
“Among the principles on which the National Economic Strategy is based are European and Euro-Atlantic integration, inviolability of private property, rule of law, intolerance to corruption, free and fair competition, equal access for business,” the government said.
The volume of construction work performed in Ukraine in January 2021 decreased 11.2% compared to January 2020, to UAH 7.2 billion, the State Statistics Service has said.
According to the statistics department, in January, the volume of construction work performed decreased by 80.3% compared to the previous month (according to seasonally adjusted data – by 14.6%), while compared to November 2020, this figure decreased by 1.2%.
The State Statistics Service reported that in January 2021 compared to January 2020, the growth in the volume of construction work was observed only in the segment of construction of engineering structures – the figure was 44.8%. At the same time, in residential construction, the decline in the volume of construction work amounted to 9.1%, in nonresidential – 6%.
The share of new construction of the total volume of completed construction work was 43.1%, repairs – 27.6%, reconstruction and technical re-equipment – 29.3%.
An increase in the volume of construction work in January 2021 compared to January 2020 was recorded in Sumy (by 0.2%, to UAH 88.7 million) and Khmelnytsky (by 128.1%, to UAH 285.8 million) regions.
In other regions of Ukraine, there was a decrease in the volume of construction work, in particular, in Zakarpattia region (by 59.4%, to UAH 22.8 million), Vinnytsia (by 55.6%, to UAH 96.8 million) and Luhansk (by 48.5%, to UAH 12 million). In Kyiv city, the indicator decreased 18.2%, to UAH 1.8 billion.
The data are given excluding the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
British-based Ferrexpo Plc, which in Ukraine, in particular, controls Poltava and Yeristovo ore mining and processing plants (Poltava GOK and Yeristovo GOK), in January 2021, increased pellet output by 7%, , to 1.05 million tonnes.
A representative of the company told Interfax-Ukraine that during this period the output of concentrate increased by 12.2%, to 1.3 million tonnes.
As reported, Ferrexpo in 2020 increased its total pellet output by 7%, year-over-year, to 11.218 million tonnes. Concentrate output increased by 5.9%, to 14 million tonnes.
Ferrexpo is an iron ore company with assets in Ukraine.
