The European Commission (EC) has approved a new program of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk has said.
“I welcome the decision by the European Commission to approve a new program of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. This is an important step for supporting reform in the country and ensuring financial stability,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday, February 28.
A source familiar with Ukraine’s negotiations with the EU told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that the volume of the new program was EUR 1 billion.
As reported, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in November 2017 that agreement had been reached on a new program of macro-financial assistance from the EU to Ukraine for 2018-2019.
Earlier, the Finance Ministry estimated the volume of the new program at EUR 1.8 billion. This corresponds to the volume of macro-financial assistance of the EU approved in 2015, which expired in January 2018.
As part of the old program, Ukraine received two tranches for a total of EUR 1.2 billion out of the planned EUR 1.8 billion. The EC refused to grant a third tranche, as the country’s authorities fulfilled only 17 of 21 preliminary conditions.
The Parliament of Ukraine has passed presidential bill No. 7440 on the High Anti-Corruption Court in first reading. The corresponding decision was supported by 282 lawmakers at the plenary session on Thursday.
Source: National Bank of Ukraine
*Excluding the temporarily occupied territories of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and the city of Sevastopol. The number of population (estimation) is calculated according to the available administrative data on the official birth and death registration including changes in registration of the residence. Data can be rivesed.
SSC of Ukraine
Investment of Cygnet agricultural company in the upgrade of its agricultural machinery fleet in 2017 totaled UAH 78.9 million.
According to information on the company’s website, in 2017, the share of corn planted on the areas cultivated by the company was 62%, that for soybeans – 20%, sugar beets – 16% and industrial crops – 2%.
The company last year harvested 122,700 tonnes of corn (the yield was 8.26 tonner per ha), 9,300 tonens of soybeans (2.4 tonnes per ha) and 210,000 tonnes of sugar beets (54 tonners per ha).
Cygnet increased milk production by 5.7% in 2017, to 5.3 tonnes.
Last year the company paid UAH 169.2 million of taxes.
As reported, Cygnet in 2017 invested $2.7 million in the modernization of a sugar factory in Zhytomyr region.
The company cultivates 25,000 hectares in Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia regions, where it grows corn, soybeans, wheat, and sugar beets.
Cygnet also has a dairy business line (about 700 cows), its products are sold to local processors, and the elevator capacity is 60,000 tonnes.
The state-owned enterprise (SOE) Ukrainian Sea Port Authority plans to send UAH 611 million to implement investment projects in the Mykolaiv seaport, which is four times more than it was spent in 2017.
The press service of the authority said that these projects will be implemented in 2018-2019.
“Increasing the volume of capital investments in the port of Mykolaiv in 2018 is an ambitious goal of the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority, which opens up broad prospects for development. These funds are state investment in the development of the port infrastructure, which together with the funds of private investors will significantly increase the competitiveness of not only the port of Mykolaiv, but also Mykolaiv region, to meet the needs of port operators, taking into account the growing cargo flows and today’s situation with the port business,” Head of the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority Raivis Veckagans said.
A significant part of the capital investments (UAH 350 million) is envisaged for the projects on the construction of the main capacities of the port: the construction of berth No. 8, destroyed during the Second World War, current repairs and overhaul of other berths, in particular, to carry out design works for the modernization and reconstruction of berth No. 0 and No. 7 and reconstruction of the mole in the Ochakiv checkpoint.
Investments in the amount of UAH 211 million will be spent on operational dredging in the approach channel of the port of Mykolaiv, in the water area and on the approach channel of the Dnipro-Buhsky port.
To optimize the movement of heavy vehicles to and from the enterprises of the Mykolaiv sea complex and its dispatching, to prevent traffic congestion on the streets of the city, parking of heavy trucks in unidentified places, road safety it is also planned to implement a project for the construction of a storage parking for heavy vehicles with an area of 35 hectares and create a logistics center in 2018-2019.
In addition, taking into account the strategic importance of the port of Mykolaiv for the state, the system of its guarding will be strengthened. It is planned to earmark funds for the introduction of video surveillance and access control to port security facilities.
The Mykolaiv port in 2017 increased the volume of transshipment of cargo in comparison with 2016 by 5% and was the third among the largest ports of Ukraine with the volume of cargo handling – 23.5 million tonnes.
