KYIV. June 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – State enterprise Ukrposhta hopes within three or four months to launch a pilot project to deliver parcels using drones.
An Interfax-Ukraine journalist has reported that acting head of Ukrposhta Ihor Tkachuk gave the information during tests of this delivery in Bucha (Kyiv region) on Wednesday.
“Amendments to postal legislation, cooperation with the State Aviation Service are required, as well as serious work is to be done. Ukrposhta should change for the needs of clients,” he said.
Israeli Flytrex drones were selected for tests. They can deliver parcels weighing up to three kilograms for distances of up to 23 kilometers. Their speed is up to 70 kilometers per hour.
Tkachuk said that the cost of one drone varies depending on its capabilities from $3,000 to $50,000. The financing of their purchase would be discussed: leasing, borrowing and other tools.
Demand for this quick delivery would be studied, he said.
“The cost of delivery by a drone cannot exceed the approved tariffs for speedy delivery. The mobile application for this delivery would be free of charge,” he added.
The founder and CEO of Flytrex Yariv Bash who was present during the tests said that drones are controlled using cloud solutions in the encoded format.
Asked how parcels can be delivered to the consumer who lives in a multi-apartment building in a city, he said that the preliminary agreed sites would be selected at the first phase of the introduction of the technology, for example, corners of the streets, near houses.
“If demand grows, the post office jointly with municipal agencies would be able to expand the number of sites for delivery,” Bash said.
He added that one postal drone can make 300 deliveries a month. He said that if the drone is seized, it would not be possible to use it in other purposes, as it can be disconnected from the control center.
“When a drone takes off it knows where to fly. There is no communication with it. The drone is controlled from the Flytrex center, not using the control boards,” Bash said.
Persons have access only to the parcel that would be landed using a rope. The drone does not land the site. If a client wants to seize the rope, the drone would let it go with the parcel.
KYIV. June 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The permanent commission of Kyiv City Council for budget, social and economic development has ordered a working group for operation of municipal markets within one month to draw up the projections for the transfer of the markets to management by private companies.
The press service of Kyiv Council’s faction Petro Poroshenko Bloc-Solidarity reported on Wednesday municipal enterprises Zhytniy Rynok (market), Besarabsky Rynok and Volodymyrsky Rynok could be leased to private companies.
“Profits of municipal markets, such as Zhytniy Rynok, Besarabsky Rynok and Volodymyrsky Rynok are less than they could be. It would be more effective to lease them to private operators selected at tenders,” Secretary of the budget commission Heorhiy Yasynsky said.
The markets could be leased on conditions of their overhaul, retaining its functions and historic look.
KYIV. June 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The ProZorro procurement system in 14 months of its operation allowed saving UAH 1.5 billion for the state, First Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Development and Trade Minister Stepan Kubiv said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“The public procurement reform and the launch of ProZorro allowed saving UAH 1.5 billion in 14 months of its operation. Over 100,000 tenders from 5,800 buyers were held,” he said, adding that in 2016 public agencies would fully switch to electronic procurement.
Kubiv urged state administration to use the electronic procurement system irrespective of the sum of the tender.
Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Maksym Nefyodov said that UAH 5 billion could be saved this year from the operation of the ProZorro system and next year the figure could grow to UAH 50 billion.
The ProZorro was launched in February 2015 in the pilot mode. In April 2016, the first stage of introducing the electronic public procurement system was started and from August 1, 2016 the use of the electronic system would be obligatory for public agencies.
KYIV. June 2 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine will create the national agency for intellectual property as a public organization on the basis of State enterprise Ukrainian Intellectual Property Institute (Ukrpatent) and the State Service of Intellectual Property. The new agency will be subordinated to the Economic Development and Trade Ministry.
“It aims at introducing the two-level intellectual property protection system via the creation of the national agency for intellectual property,” First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv said, presenting the concept for reforming the intellectual property system in the country at a government meeting.
He said that Ukrpatent will be reorganized and the State Service of Intellectual Property will be liquidated.
Kubiv said that the current public management system is inefficient and has failed to develop international partnerships. International partners, in particular, the United States and the European Union, have expressed their views about the state of intellectual property rights protection in Ukraine.
The minister said that the national agency will be financed using fees collected for action linked to intellectual property protection. This is the practice of global patent offices.
He said that the new agency will use the ‘one face to the customer’ approach in issuing intellectual property protection documents. This meets the European practice.
Kubiv added that the concept foresees the reorganization of the collective copyrights management system, improvement of national legislation and its harmonization with EU requirements.
He said that the concept caused large resistance, and it will be a long way to pass on the reformation of this public agency. The Education Ministry, famous Ukrainian and international experts and technical assistance will be used to reform it.
Kubiv did not specify the terms of the creation of the new agency. It is mentioned in the government’s brief on top priorities delivered in May, with completion targeted for the fourth quarter of 2016.
KYIV. June 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the allocation of state budget funds in the amount of UAH 201.132 million for the construction of housing for military personnel in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine in 2016.
The corresponding resolution on the distribution of state budget funds provided for the program No. 1002070 entitled “The construction (purchase) of housing for military personnel of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine” dated May 27 was published on the Cabinet website.
The Cabinet is to submit more than UAH 18 million for the construction of a second priority dormitory from the state budget and for a single Kyiv checkpoint in Boryspil, the document says.
In addition, UAH 27 million will be used for the construction of a multistoreyed block of flats with engineering services at 20 Narodytska Street in Zhytomyr, and UAH 20.5 million – for the construction of a multistorey appartment house at 200 Sobranetska Street in Uzhgorod.
The Cabinet will also distribute UAH 11.2 million on the construction of the first priority housing and UAH 7.4 million on the second priority building, three nine-storeyed blocks of flats are also planned on 46 Shevchenka Street in Khmelnytsky.
Construction and reconstruction of housing for the State Border Guard Service from budget funds will also be carried out in 2016 in Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Lviv, Odesa, Khmelnytsky, Berdiansk, Ovruch (Zhytomyr region), Velyki Mosty (Lviv region), Izmail (Odesa region), the village of Korytnytsia (Volyn region), the village of Rybakivka (Mykolaiv region), the village of Topoli (Kharkiv region), and the village of Muzykivka (Kherson region).
LVIV. June 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Investment Bank (EIB) is ready to finance the Hrybovychi landfill reclamation project in Lviv. Fires raged at the site several days ago, and a landslide occurred on Monday burying four firemen, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy has said.
“The only partner we cooperate with in the issue in the past two years is the European Investment Bank. The bank agreed to provide funds for the complete landfill reclamation and a plant with deep-earth sorting line,” he said at a briefing on Tuesday.
The mayor said that now the project is being agreed in the Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Economy Ministry. Deputy Prime Minister Hennadiy Zubko assured that the process would be finished in the shortest terms.
“I think that within one month the issue would be settled. The advance team of the bank visited the city twice,” Sadovy said.
He said that the approximate amount of the loan could be near EUR 40 million.
He said that the city is not able to solve the reclamation problem using only own forces. It requires around UAH 600 million.
“We received no proposal for landfill reclamation. This is a loss, we’re not doing business,” he said.
“We have not received any proposals to dispose bituminous lakes. I had many proposals for the new solid waste landfill, but no section was approved due to political pressure,” he said.
