In 2024, the State Agency for the Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine will continue its transformation and plans to create a centralized procurement organization (CPO), the agency said in a statement presenting its 2023 results and plans for 2024 to international partners.
“The goal is to increase the Agency’s efficiency, transparency and accountability. The creation of the CPO will increase expertise in public and international procurement, introduce expert review of project documentation, ensure centralized price monitoring and competitive salaries,” said Mustafa Nayyem, the Agency’s head.
The event was organized with the support of the USAID/UKaid project “Support to the Reform of State-Owned Enterprises in Ukraine”. SOERA project with the support of the American and British peoples through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department for International, Commonwealth and Development (UKaid). The event was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, representatives of foreign embassies, international financial organizations and international companies.
Presenting the results of the work for 2023, Nayyem emphasized that the Recovery Agency is a sustainable and strong institution capable of implementing projects of various scales in the areas of social and housing construction, energy security, road infrastructure development, export, military and humanitarian logistics.
According to him, one of the largest projects of the Recovery Agency in 2023 was the protection of energy facilities at three levels, with assistance from partners from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
The first level – big bags and gabions – protected 103 facilities in 21 regions of Ukraine for UAH 2 billion. By March this year, 22 substations and 63 substation elements will receive the second level of protection against drones and shaheds, with UAH 9.4 billion already financed and 12 facilities ready.
According to Nayyem, the third level – protection of 22 substations from missiles in 14 regions of Ukraine – is planned to be completed by the end of 2024, subject to sustainable funding, which is estimated at UAH 67.6 billion.
The second major project being implemented by the Agency, according to its head, is the construction of a 145 km water pipeline to provide 1.5 million people with drinking water after the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was blown up by Russian troops. The work began in June 2023, and UAH 8.5 billion of the UAH 13.5 billion has already been financed. Nayyem noted that consulting engineers and representatives of independent technical supervision are working at each of the sites, and a comprehensive technical audit of project documentation will be conducted separately with the assistance of the USAID ERA “Economic Support for Ukraine”. In addition, all reports, along with the results of the audit and examination, as well as estimates, will be made public after the examination.
The Head of the Agency added that a special focus is on the reconstruction of social facilities. The reconstruction of settlements affected by the hostilities continues: Borodyanka (Kyiv region), Yahidne (Chernihiv region), Trostyanets (Sumy region), Tsyrkuny (Kharkiv region), Posad-Pokrovske (Kherson region). In total, the Agency is reconstructing 352 objects, including 292 housing, 31 social infrastructure, 16 street and road infrastructure, 8 administrative buildings, and 5 housing and communal facilities. 75 contracts were signed as a result of 87 tenders for UAH 3.8 billion.
Nayyem also said that in 2022-2023, the Agency repaired 330 bridges, and another important area of its work is to provide military logistics and reconstruction in the de-occupied territories. In 2023, traffic was restored on more than 1.2 thousand kilometers of roads and 89 bridges damaged by hostilities were repaired. The Czech Republic, the United States, France, Sweden, and Norway provided artificial bridges, the Agency’s head said.
He reminded that after the outbreak of full-scale war, 70% of exports are delivered by road. In order to develop export routes, 23 checkpoints on the western and southern border have already been transferred to the Agency’s management, and 6 more are in the process of being transferred. Repair work has already begun at 11.
Nayyem also emphasized the changes made by the Agency to reduce procurement abuses, increase transparency of its activities, and prevent corruption. Unified procurement methods for civil construction, monitoring and analysis of procurement services have been introduced, an effective dialogue with the market has been established, and procurement certification according to the standards of the Chartered Institute of Procurement Services (CIPS) has been introduced. The Agency received the Prozorro Awards for its transparent approach to recovery procurement. The Agency signed a memorandum with the NABU on preventing and combating criminal corruption offenses. The Transparency and Accountability Council was established. ISO 37001 certification was launched: management system for combating corruption offenses.
The Agency is the technical administrator of all-Ukrainian systems developed with the support of international partners: DREAM is a single digital route for all reconstruction projects, E-queue is an electronic border crossing system, and GIS RD is a geographic information system for regional development.
Quotes of interbank currency market of Ukraine (UAH for 1 pln, in 01.10.2023-31.10.2023)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Vladyslav Andronov, Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration, has been appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PrJSC HC Kyivmiskbud, replacing Mykola Povoroznyk.
According to the company’s announcement in the information disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), the supervisory board made the decision on January 29.
In turn, the territorial community of Kyiv, which owns 80% of the shares of PrJSC HC Kyivmiskbud represented by the Department of Communal Property, on January 26 announced the recall and termination of the powers of the chairman of the supervisory board, Mykola Povoroznyk, who had held this position since December 2022.
Since June 2022, Andronov has been the deputy head of the KCSA for self-government powers. Previously, he served as State Secretary of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food from 2017 to 2021.
As reported, at the end of December 2023, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko instructed to form a new composition of the Supervisory Board and the Management Board of Kyivmiskbud PrJSC in a short time. Earlier, the head of the company, Ihor Kushnir, announced that he was stepping down as the company’s chairman of the board and president after 12 years of service.
The audit of Kyivmiskbud conducted by Baker Tilly Ukraine Consulting, NHD-Audit LLC and Ernst & Young LLC found no signs of actions to bring the company to bankruptcy, concealment of financial insolvency or massive transactions by related parties. At the same time, the auditors found that Kyivmiskbud’s operations were disrupted by external factors, including COVID-19, a full-scale war, and the Ukrbud factor.
On November 17, the commission approved an interim report with recommendations and proposals for the further work of Kyivmiskbud, including the purchase of apartments in Kyivmiskbud facilities, consideration of a financial loan or additional capitalization of the company. The TAC also recommended that the Kyiv City Council appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to compensate Kyivmiskbud for the total planned losses associated with the completion of Ukrbud’s projects in the amount of UAH 2.28 billion.
HC Kyivmiskbud was established on the basis of the property of the state municipal construction corporation Kyivmiskbud in 1994 by merging controlling stakes in 28 enterprises and other assets in its authorized capital. The holding company consists of 40 joint-stock companies in which the company owns shares, six subsidiaries and 51 companies as associate members.
The main shareholder of PrJSC HC Kyivmiskbud, according to the NSSMC, is the Kyiv City Council (80%).
Metinvest Mining and Metals Group has built 35 steel bunker headquarters for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s Steel Front initiative and plans to produce another 90 bunkers.
Metinvest’s Chief Operating Officer Alexander Mironenko told Pryamyy Kanal that the group has joined the fortification program that is underway in virtually all frontline areas, and is actively building the second and third defense lines with platoon strongholds.
“These points use our shelters as standard, and we have already delivered more than 330 units to our army. And the question arose that we also need to make command posts to ensure continuous control of troops near the contact line. After that, we had a very meaningful discussion with the military, with the command in certain areas. And we have developed a project of the command post – they must meet the following requirements to ensure a comfortable stay of the leadership near the positions and continuous command of the troops,” explained Myronenko.
He clarified that the points must be provided with uninterrupted communication, so they are equipped with Internet, telephone and all other means used by the military. In addition, there should be places where online operators can watch what is happening on the contact line. There are people who monitor video from reconnaissance drones flying along the front line. There are people who monitor how the enemy’s positions and our positions are changing, what kind of fighting is going on at the moment on the contact line. This is all done using large screens and computer equipment, which Metinvest also provides.
The stations are located deep underground for the safety of the military, they are electrified and equipped with stationary heating places, as well as a modern ventilation system that prevents air from stagnating.
The stations are set up mostly at night – they have to be delivered secretly, the place prepared – dig a hole, place them there, make communication lines, fill them up, cover them with several layers of wood. All this requires quite significant security measures, which the company takes together with the military: “They prepare the infrastructure, and we come and install the ‘shelters’ and help with the arrangement.”
“About production: it takes 4-5 weeks to prepare 5-6 shelters, including steel production, assembly of the structure and interior arrangement. The finished structure can be loaded onto a truck, delivered, unloaded and buried. (…) The main purpose of these points is to continuously control troops in a safe environment. If they are properly installed (…), they provide protection against artillery hits of up to 152 caliber,” the top manager explained.
He also emphasized that these control centers are very much needed now, and the company continues to produce them – currently, about five more are in the process of being assembled, which will be distributed to the areas and brigades at the front line. The next stages of production are currently being discussed.
“All the sites where the products are manufactured, including mine trawls, command posts and hideouts, are located outside our facilities. We care about the safety of people working at these sites. In total, about 400-500 employees of Metinvest are constantly involved in the production of defense products. There are opportunities for expansion for almost all types of products, but we are currently limited in the number of people we can employ in this production. (…) We are trying to work closely with the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Defense,” said the COO.
Currently, the main areas of focus are mine clearance (mine trawls) and the provision of shelters and fortifications, as well as their modification. The production of “hideouts” for drone operators is currently being discussed, and another area is being developed, which concerns stabilization medical centers.
“I think in a month or so we will be able to show in more detail what it is and how our medics will be able to use it – the medical stations are currently under development, and we will soon make the first one,” Myronenko summarized.
According to the results of 2023, ATB Group paid taxes and fees to the budgets of all levels, including customs duties and unified social contribution, totaling UAH 25.06 billion, which is UAH 4.62 billion more than in 2022, the company’s press service reports.
According to the report, in particular, the state budget received UAH 16.49 billion, local budgets – UAH 6.02 billion, and UAH 2.55 billion was allocated to trust funds.
Last year, the corporation’s flagship enterprise, ATB-Market LLC, paid taxes and fees totaling UAH 19.45 billion (in 2022 – UAH 15.63 billion). Last year, the state budget received UAH 12.41 billion from ATB-Market LLC, UAH 5.12 billion in taxes and fees were paid to local budgets, and UAH 1.92 billion to trust funds.
ATB Corporation is an association of large Ukrainian companies operating in such business areas as retail, asset management, food production and sales, and sports and recreation services. The corporation employs over 70 thousand people.
As of June 1, 2023, the corporation’s retail network consisted of 1188 stores compared to 1316 stores in January 2022. Last year, the chain’s turnover amounted to UAH 176.9 billion, which is 2% lower than in 2021 (UAH 179.8 billion).
In 2023, Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines increased the number of passengers carried by 24% compared to 2022, to 1.546 million.
According to the official website of SkyUp Airlines, the airline also operated 10,528 flights to 53 countries on 664 routes, which is 36% more than in 2022.
The largest number of flights were operated by SkyUp Airlines to/from Chisinau Airport – 2 thousand flights, Egypt – 1.685 thousand, Turkey – 1.219 thousand, Tunisia – 675 flights, Romania – 556 flights, the report says.
It is noted that in 2023, the airline cooperated under ACMI contracts with Tunisair, FlyOne, HiSky SRL, HiSky Europe SRL, Wizz Air Malta, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Corendon Dutch, Tailwind Airlines, and FlyEgypt.
“After a turbulent 2022, 2023 was a year of stabilization for the airline. We significantly increased the volume of ACMI contracts and became one of the 20 most popular airlines in Europe. These results allowed us to retain a team of professionals, which is now actually the key to the future recovery of Ukrainian civil aviation,” SkyUp CEO Dmytro Seroukhov said in a statement.
He assured that in 2024, the airline will continue to strengthen its position in the ACMI and charter markets, and expressed hope for Ukraine’s soonest victory and the resumption of flights in Ukrainian airspace.
SkyUp reported that in 2023 it retained a team of 1,139 professionals and paid almost UAH 200 million in taxes to the state.
In November and December 2023, SkyUp Airlines took part in a highly complex operation to rescue Ukrainian citizens from the Gaza Strip. We managed to evacuate about 200 Ukrainians. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked SkyUp Airlines for its assistance in the evacuation of Ukrainians from the Gaza Strip, the statement said.
It is also said that SkyUp is working to improve processes and introduce modern technologies: in 2023, the company signed an agreement with IBS Software to implement solutions that will modernize distribution, increase revenues, and improve service systems.
In addition, the airline is implementing an aviation security risk management system from Osprey Flight Solutions. The airline has trained staff and launched the software, the statement said. It is noted that thanks to adapted data collection, forecasting capabilities, automatic alerts and prioritization, the Osprey system continuously monitors changes, instantly adjusts risk assessments and sends appropriate notifications for further decision-making on possible changes to routes and flight schedules.
In 2023, SkyUP entered the European market by founding SkyUp MT, which received an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), a Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO) certificate, and an Air Operator License (AOL). The airline’s office is located in Malta, and its fleet currently includes two Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
In 2023, the airline received permission to operate in the United States of America – a foreign air carrier certificate FAR129. In addition, SkyUp can operate in Canada. The FAOC certificate allows the Ukrainian airline to provide ACMI services and operate charter flights from other countries to Canada.
SkyUp has been operating commercial flights under ACMI contracts since mid-April 2022. As of June 2023, according to the ACMI Contract Monitor report by ch-aviation, the carrier was ranked among the top 15 ACMI service providers and among the airlines with the largest ACMI contracts.
