Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

ENERGY MINISTRY PREDICTS GROWTH OF ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN 2019 BY 1.7%

The forecast balance of electricity of Ukraine for 2019 approved by Ukraine’s Energy and Coal Industry Minister Ihor Nasalyk on September 28, 2018, envisage growth of electricity consumption by 1.7% (2.5 billion kWh) compared with the projected figures for 2018, to 153.5 billion kWh.
According to the document, the export of electricity is provided in the amount of 6.42 billion kWh, which is 9.5% higher than the figure in the forecast balance of 2018 (5.855 billion kWh).
The improvement in the forecast is due to the expected growth in supplies to Moldova (a rise of 2.4%, to 1.08 billion kWh), Poland (a rise of 20%, to 1.44 billion kWh) and from Burshtyn Island ( a rise of 8.3%, up to 3.9 billion kWh).
Electricity imports in 2019, as in the current year, are not planned.
The following sources remain the main sources of covering demand for the next year: NPPs – 83.045 billion kWh (a fall of 1.5% compared with the 2018 balance), TPPs – 50.837 billion kWh (a rise of 4.1%), CHPP and cogeneration plants – 12.544 billion kWh (a rise of 6.4%), HPPs – 8.9 billion kWh ( a fall of 0.6%).
It is planned that alternative sources (wind farms, solar power plants and other plants) will increase the production of electricity by 72.4%, to 3.5 billion kWh, blocking stations – by 1.2%, to 1.626 billion kWh, while pump storage power plants’ generation will be reduced by 22.1%, to 1.412 billion kWh.

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UKRZALIZNYTSIA TO START ELECTRIFICATION OF DOLYNSKA-MYKOLAIV-KOLOSIVKA RAIL SECTION IN MARCH 2019

PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia plans to start works to electrify the Dolynska-Mykolaiv-Kolosivka rail section in March 2019.
The company said that the ratification of the financial agreement between Ukraine and the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the Ukraine Railway Modernization Project by the Verkhovna Rada would allow launching an open tender to select a general contractor to electrify the Dolynska-Mykolaiv-Kolosivka rail section.
The company expects to use the first tranche at the end of May 2019. The minimum size of the tranche is EUR 5 million, and the total number of tranches will be up to 20, acting Board Chairman of Ukrzaliznytsia Yevhen Kravtsov said.
The project provides for two phases of implementation: work on the Dolynska-Mykolaiv section (the operational length is 148 km) is scheduled from March 2019 to May 2023, and on the Mykolaiv-Kolosivka section (105 km) from June 2019 to October 2021.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada has ratified a financial agreement (Ukraine Railway Modernization Project) between Ukraine and the EIB on the provision of a EUR 150 million loan to Ukraine, foreseeing funding of the modernization and expansion of the Dolynska-Mykolaiv-Kolosivka railway section.
In January 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the project on the reconstruction of the Dolynska-Mykolaiv railway section with increased capacity of the Znamianka-Dolynska-Mykolaiv section.
On December 19, 2016 a financial agreement on the Ukraine Railway Modernization Project (modernization of the infrastructure of PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia) was signed with the EIB, which provides for a loan of EUR 150 million.

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SYNGENTA OPENS SIXTH WORLD’S DIGITAL INNOVATION LAB IN UKRAINE IN TECHNOLOGICAL PARK UNIT.CITY.

Syngenta, one of the world’s largest producers of plant and seed protection agents, has opened a Digital Innovation Lab in Kyiv, the sixth platform in the company’s global network of laboratories. “Our laboratories in other countries focus on researching and studying consumer demand for digital products, developing concepts and creating prototypes of products. The Ukrainian laboratory will complement their work by offering a full cycle of developing solutions – from research and modeling of test samples of digital products to creating working versions ready for launch with real users and integrated with Syngenta systems,” Benjamin Ninio, the head of the global direction of digital technologies at Syngenta, said during the opening of the company’s laboratory.
According to him, over the past year and a half Syngenta has launched five similar projects in different countries of the world. Now the laboratories operate in the United States, China, India, Singapore, and the UK.
The laboratory office in Kyiv is located in the innovative and technological park Unit.city.
Syngenta is one of the world leaders in plant protection and seed production. The company employs 28,000 people in more than 90 countries of the world.

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45% OF UKRAINIANS SIGN DECLARATION WITH FAMILY DOCTORS

Almost 18.9 million persons signed declarations with family doctors in the primary healthcare reform, Deputy Health Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Kovtonyuk has said. Speaking at the seminar entitled “The First Results of Healthcare Reform: the Experience of the Regions” at the Public Health international exhibition in Kyiv, he reported, referring to the data of the National Health Service of Ukraine that at present, about 45% of Ukrainians are registered with family doctors. At the same time, Kovtonyuk said that “Kyiv is an almost complete outsider in the number of declarations” – 1.149 million declarations were signed in Kyiv, which is below the national average.
At the same time, in the leading cities of the reform declarations were signed by up to 73% of the population, in particular, in Chervonohrad (Lviv region). In Ovruch (Zhytomyr region) declarations were signed by 68% of residents, Vinnytsia and Pokrovsk (Donetsk region) – 65% each, Novohrad-Volynsky (Zhytomyr region) – 63%, Nikopol (Dnipropetrovsk region) and Pervomaisk (Mykoklaiv region) – 61% each.
The primary healthcare institutions which have switched to a new mechanism for financing services after the first stage of signing agreements with the National Health Service of Ukraine received UAH 819.8 million in July-September 2018. In particular, UAH 266.8 million was sent to 30 healthcare institutions of Kyiv. Kovtonyuk said that residents of rural areas more active in signing declaration with family doctors compared with urban residents.

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UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT SIGNS BILL REGARDING PRESERVING FORESTS

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a bill amending some Ukrainian laws regarding preserving Ukrainian forests and preventing illegal imports of rough timber, according to posting on the official website of the head of state. The law increases fines for illegal logging and causing damage to forests and young trees by several times. The amendments are made to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, Criminal Code of Ukraine, Code of Criminal Procedure and the law on the specifics of the public regulation of activities of business entities linked to the sale and exports of wood.
The government is instructed to design a comprehensive program on restoration of forests of Ukraine and set the priorities for these works, fire and disease protection and other measures. The introduction of the requirements of the law will allow preserving the environmental safety of Ukraine and will create an effective mechanism to prevent committing crimes related to illegal logging. As reported, on July 3, 2018, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada passed bill No. 5495, restricting domestic consumption of rough timber to 25 million cubic meters a year and temporarily banning exports of firewood.

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UKRGAZVYDOBUVANNIA TO BUY MOBILE DRILLING RIG FROM CHINA’S ZHONGMAN

Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group Corp. (China) has won a tender of JSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia to buy a new mobile drilling rig with a capacity of 125 tonnes for UAH 351.08 million (VAT included). According to the ProZorro e-procurement system, Ukrgazvydobuvannia posted a notification about the plans to sign the contract on October 2. The equipment is to be delivered before May 31, 2019. Sichuan Honghua Petroleum Equipment Co., China Petroleum Technology & Development Corporation, Yantai Jereh Petroleum Equipment & Technologies Co. and Redditizio Limited took part in the tender.
According to the tender documents, the drilling rig will be used to overhaul wells with depth of up to 6,000 meters and drill wells with depth of up to 2,800 meters. As reported, at the end of 2017, Ukrgazvydobuvannia signed a contract with Bentec GmbH Drilling & Oilfield Systems (Germany) to supply five drilling rigs with a capacity of 450 tonnes (2,000 HP) for $110 million. The first rig will be supplied in October 2018.

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