KYIV. May 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Delta Bloc International GmbH (Austria) is looking for partners in Ukraine to organize production of reinforced concrete roadside guard rails, company regional manager Helmut Leitgeb has said.
“What we intend to do here is to find production partners to transfer our know-how and organize local production of these fences… We cooperate with Ukrcement because the main component of the recipe depends on concrete,” Leitgeb said at the seventh Ukrainian Cement Forum 2017.
According to him, reinforced concrete road fences produced by the company comply with European standard EN 1317 and were tested in 150 crash tests. Their main difference from other similar fences is the strength and mobility of structures, due to what the fences do not collapse in a collision with a vehicle but move slightly, not allowing it to go beyond the road.
“Even a large truck or a bus can be stopped by such a fence, and this is its main difference,” the expert said.
Delta Bloc was founded in 2000 as an independent subsidiary of MABA Precast Concrete, part of Kirchdorfer Group, to focus on international business development in the field of protective concrete fences.
As of May 2017 Delta Bloc has branches in Germany, Slovenia, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom and South Africa.
KYIV. May 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has stated the liberalization of forex regulations is possible within further decisions to weaken monetary policy, NBU Acting Head Yakiv Smoliy has said.
“The NBU board considers it possible to weaken monetary policy not only by reducing the refinancing rate, but also by liberalizing currency regulation,” he said during a press briefing in Kyiv.
According to the banker, these decisions will primarily concern the increase in the timing for returning foreign exchange earnings to the country to 180 days from 120 days. The NBU also intends to provide investors with the opportunity to return funds invested in Ukraine.
“Until now it has been forbidden to buy and transfer foreign currency for the return abroad of funds received by foreign investors from the sale of corporate rights, reduction of charter capital, and withdrawal from societies. We plan to allow such operations,” Smoliy said.
At the same time, to prevent withdrawal of capital from Ukraine through shadow schemes, the NBU will make sure these operations comply with conditions.
KYIV. May 25 (Interfax-Ukraine) – ENTSO-E (the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity) has agreed the final version of the agreement on the joining of Ukrainian and Moldovan energy systems to the continental network of Europe.
According to the press service of Ukrenergo, the decision was made in Lisbon (Portugal) on May 23. The agreement is to be signed in June 2017.
“The signing of the agreement in June 2017 should be the starting point for the beginning of integration of the united energy system of Ukraine to the European Union,” the report reads.
The press service said synchronization with ENTSO-E will enhance the reliability of the united energy system of Ukraine and, in particular, reduce the dependence on stability of coal supplies to power stations. Ukraine will also be able to receive technological assistance from the neighboring energy systems.
Simultaneous work with ENTSO-E will allow increasing exports of electricity to Europe, which will automatically improve the investment attractiveness of the country’s energy sector. In particular, exports could increase from the current 5 billion kWh to 18-20 billion kWh with additional revenues of up to $1.5 billion. At the same time, Ukrainian hydropower plants will be able to take part in balancing peak loads of adjacent power systems of European countries.
KYIV. May 25 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The State Property Fund (SPF) has called a tender in the form of an auction to sell 99.912% of PrJSC Mykolaiv co-generation plant at a starting price of UAH 97 million.
The tender will be held on July 12, it will start at 11:00 local time, the SPF said on Wednesday. The deadline for bids is 18:00 local time on June 26, 2017.
The tender guarantee for a bidder is either a cash contribution or a bank guarantee to the tune of UAH 4.85 million.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the terms of the sale of Mykolaiv co-generation plant with a starting price of UAH 97 million on May 11, 2017.
The plant’s installed capacity is 40 MW and that of heat is 410 Gcal per hour. It serves about 39,400 households in the city of Mykolaiv. It consumes gas fuel. The number of employees is 491 people.
KYIV. May 25 (Interfax-Ukraine) – China has vetted Ukrainian frozen beef exports, Ukraine’s State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection reported on May 22.
The Ukrainian agency and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China (AQSIQ) signed a protocol of inspection, quarantine, veterinary and sanitary requirements for the export of frozen beef from Ukraine to China.
The Ukrainian regulator says that Ukrainian frozen beef was granted access to the Chinese market after a mission of the Chinese competent authority that assessed Ukrainian food safety control of beef production. The mission visited Ukraine late in April.
In addition, the State Food Safety and Consumer Protection Service and AQSIQ representatives are now engaged in approval of phytosanitary and inspection requirements for the export of some Ukrainian agrarian products to China. In particular, these are sunflower meal, beet pulp, dairy foods, poultry meat, eggs, honey, and others.
KYIV. May 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine ranked 44th in the Open Data Barometer ranking, having climbed 18 positions up compared to last year’s results, Deputy Head of the State Agency for e-Governance Oleksiy Vyskub has said.
“Ukraine has climbed 18 positions in the world open data ranking: from 62 to 44, having taken the most positive ‘leap’ in the rating together with Georgia,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
The ranking features 115 countries.
Ukraine shared its 44th position and the result of 36 points with Estonia. Georgia, Bulgaria, Jamaica, and Turkey ranked 40th. South Africa and Poland took the 46th position.
The leaders of the ranking were the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and the United States, which ranked first, second, third and fourth respectively.
Swaziland and Yemen are the bottom of the ranking.
As reported, Ukraine in early May took the 24th position in the open data development rankings, according to the results of the Global Open Data Index research, having climbed by 30 positions from the previous year.
