KYIV. June 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman during his working visit to the U.S. met with U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz.
“Representatives of the U.S. Secretary of Energy have assured of their readiness to support Ukraine, and to help in Ukraine’s achieving energy efficiency,” the information and communications department of the office of the Cabinet of Ministers reported on Wednesday.
At the meeting, the two officials discussed the government’s plans in achieving energy independence of Ukraine. Groysman said that energy independence is a matter of national security of Ukraine. “Our task is to diversify, to become an energy efficient state, and we are currently working on this. The energy reform is among our priorities,” the prime minister said.
He also reported the first steps of the government in achieving this. He spoke about the introduction of a single market price for natural gas by the government. This decision will help overcome corruption in the sector, spur the domestic production of gas and help achieve energy efficiency in the country. At the same time, those who are unable to pay for gas will receive assistance after the market prices for gas will be established.
According to Groysman, the Ukrainian government also focuses on the nuclear power industry and the development of alternative energy. In the near future, the government plans to adopt the strategy of hydropower development. The prime minister said that the share of the hydropower sector may be increased to 15.5% of all the power generated in the country, compared with the current 8.5%.
Groysman also spoke about the need for the modernization and restructuring of Ukrainian coal mines. In addition, the government focuses on the reform of the national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy.
The prime minister thanked the U.S. government for its support of Ukraine’s energy sector.
KYIV. June 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s State Agency of Automobile Roads (Ukravtodor) on June 13, 2016 first posted two tender announcements on smart tender.biz electronic platform, which is part of the ProZorro public procurement system.
According to Ukravtodor’s press release, the agency seeks to select an organization that will control the state of roads and the quality of road works. The approximate cost of the agreement is UAH 20 million.
The second announcement concerns the selection of executors of research and design works for the road sector consisting of 92 lots and totally worth some UAH 34.359 million.
“The switch to the ProZorro system is an important step on the way to reload the whole public procurement system in the road economy,” acting head of Ukravtodor Yevhen Barakh said.
He expressed hope that the auction mode would considerably decrease expenses on the organization of these works.
Soon Ukravtodor intends to purchase office materials for the needs of the agency’s employees. The road sector is to fully switch to electronic trading from August 1, 2016.
KYIV. June 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Private joint-stock company Darnitsa pharmaceutical firm (Kyiv) has proposed to shareholders in public joint-stock company Research and Industrial Center Borschahivka chemical and pharmaceutical plant (Kyiv) that the firm will buy out 25% of shares in the Borschahivka plant for UAH 80,000 per share.
Darnitsa pharmaceutical firm said in the Holos Ukrainy newspaper on Wednesday that the company seeks to buy 2,588 shares with a face value of UAH 4.759 million for UAH 207.04 million.
Darnitsa will accept the proposals of shareholders in the plant before August 31, 2016.
The firm will pay in cash or settle cashless payments using own funds of Darnitsa pharmaceutical firm.
The pharmaceutical firm said that the shareholders who will sell their shares will receive dividends accrued for 2015.
As reported, on March 20, 2015, an auction was held where Kyiv City sold its 30% stake in Borschahivka chemical and pharmaceutical plant for UAH 171.844 million. The financial company Kub, which represents the interests of Darnitsa pharmaceutical company, bought the stake. The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine in January 2016 permitted private joint-stock company Darnitsa Pharmaceutical Firm (Kyiv) to acquire over 50% of share in the plant.
However, Borschahivka chemical and pharmaceutical plant said that the plant is not holding negotiations on the sale of a controlling stake in the company and the company has attracted international advisors to receive recommendations on defining the value of the enterprise and protecting it from unfriendly actions.
KYIV. June 16 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Business associations of 21 Asian and European countries, including the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE), have founded the Belt&Road Industrial and Commercial Alliance (BRICA).
The founding ceremony for BRICA was held in Beijing on Thursday, the ULIE said in a press release.
“We want to ensure that our partners should see our country not only as a transit zone for shipment of goods to Europe, but also as a platform for the formation of new enterprises,” the ULIE quoted its first vice president Vasyl Khmelnytsky as saying.
According to him, the ULIE hopes to attract more investment and promote the interests of Ukrainian business through the establishment of this new alliance.
BRICA is an international non-governmental organization which brings together on a voluntary basis national business associations from Asia and Europe. The name ‘One Belt, One Road’ comes from the eponymous initiative of the Chinese government aimed at establishing a new model of international cooperation and development through the strengthening of the existing regional bilateral and multilateral mechanisms and structures of interactions, which involve China. To implement the strategy and investment projects in the countries that have joined it, China has set up a separate fund, which already has over $40 billion in authorized capital, the ULIE reported.
KYIV. June 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy of Ukraine and the German Corporation for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ) have agreed on the implementation of the project for the development of Ukrainian cities with the funding of EUR 5.85 million.
The relevant agreement was signed by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Regional Development Hennadiy Zubko, Director of the GIZ Office in Ukraine Sabine Muller and Director of the Integrated Urban Development in Ukraine project Mathias Brandt.
“At present, the integrated urban development is critically important for Ukraine because powers are being transferred local authorities and new tools are being developed to address the issues related to financing and territory planning,” Zubko said.
Integrated plans for the development of Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Poltava and Chernivtsi are planned to be developed as part of the project. Each of the cities needs to provide free office space worth EUR 200,000.
ODESA. June 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Union (EU) seeks to support various initiatives intended to develop the Black Sea region, EU Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella has said.
The idea is that each country has own challenges in this region and there are common challenges for the whole region, he said at the Third Black Sea Stakeholder conference in Odesa on Tuesday.
Vella said that the EU backs the region in general.
He added that he sees the largest potential for development of the Black Sea region in the tourism industry.
Conference participants discussed the prospects for increasing the region’s attractiveness for tourists, scientific cooperation, sustainable use of the Black Sea and other issues.
