KYIV. Feb 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukroboronprom State Concern is working on a project to create an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) complex, the press service of the Ukroboronprom reported on Thursday, citing Deputy Director for Aircraft Building and Production Yuriy Paschenko.
“We’ve proposed to the Defense Ministry to create UCAVs that are able to destroy an enemy’s tank, for example,” he said.
He said that the main task of the UCAV will be delivery of the missile to the target, while the UCAV could be also used by intelligence.
Depending on the combat task, the UCAV will be equipped with various combinations of missiles and electronic equipment, Paschenko said.
The design of the new UCAV will be created in 2016 and designer’s documents in 2017, the Ukroboronprom said.
KYIV. Feb 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Lozova Machinery, the agricultural machinery brand manufactured at Lozova Forging-Mechanical Plant (Kharkiv region), plans to start bulk production of the Harvester trailer with a dump body as part of joint production created with one of the leading manufacturers of trailer for farmers in Britain Larrington Trailers.
The press service of the UPEC Group, which incorporates Lozova Forging-Mechanical Plant, reported that the two-axle trailer with a carrying capacity of 18 tonnes will transport and unload grain, edible roots, ensilage and other cargos. The trailers can be used with 150 hp and more powerful tractors.
The Harvester will be the first in the line of trailers which production will start in Ukraine in the future.
The first sample made in Ukraine will be exhibited at the Grain Tech Expo 2016 in Kyiv on February 10.
KYIV. Feb 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – KME Germany GmbH & Co. KG, a European industrial group with leading positions on the global copper and copper alloy products, the co-founder of KME-Magma Service Ukraine LLC (Mariupol, Donetsk region), has resumed investment in the development of the joint venture in Ukraine that repairs casting-mold machines’ parts.
The Illichivets newspaper reported that German investors resume cooperation with Mariupol: at present new equipment is being actively installed at KME-Magma Service Ukraine. The equipment to repair details of ingot-forming equipment was shipped from Germany.
The joint venture was created in 2013 by Mariupol-based Magma LLC, an engineering company, and КМЕ Group. Only three years later foreign investors came to Mariupol.
German partners visited Magma LLC on February 2.
“We consider Mariupol as the steel region which is famous by steel production in the world and which should continue developing,” Marketing Director at KME Norbert Folkman.
He said that the fact that the German group decided to invest in the Mariupol company is a signal that Europeans think that the situation here will develop positively.
Folkman said that over EUR 2 million has been invested in the project and this is only the start.
The new line at KME-Magma Service Ukraine will be launched in May and 20 places of work will be created there.
KYIV. Feb 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Verkhovna Rada has ratified an agreement between the Ukrainian government and the European Commission on Ukraine’s joining the Creative Europe programme.
A total of 244 lawmakers backed bill No. 0077 on Wednesday.
According to the explanatory note to the bill, the Creative Europe programme is the European Union programme for the cultural and creative sectors and Ukraine and the European Union will cooperate in the MEDIA sub-programme.
The implementation of the agreement envisages the creation of the national bureau of the Creative Europe programme in Ukraine. The bureau will accompany the implementation of the program in Ukraine, analyze the impact of the programme on development of the Ukrainian cultural and creative sectors, conduct events aimed at spreading knowledge about modern trends in the Creative Europe programme and other EU programmes (conferences, seminars, training and other events).
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture Viacheslav Kyrylenko said presenting the bill in the parliament, soon a tender to select a head of the bureau will be announced.
KYIV. Feb 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Some agricultural companies invested billions of hryvnias in the development of facilities at Ukrainian seaports in 2015, according to a report of the Cabinet of Ministers published on its website.
Noble Agri (China) used around UAH 500 million to realize a project on building a grain terminal in the rear part of berths 1 and 2 at Mykolaiv seaport.
Bunge (the U.S.) invested around UAH 1.7 billion in construction of a modern grain terminal and a seed crushing plant in the rear parts of berths 13 and 14 of Mykolaiv seaport.
Brooklyn-Kyiv LLC (Louis Dreifus, France) is building a grain terminal in the rear part of berth one of Odesa seaport. The Ukrainian Sea Port Authority is implementing a project on construction of berth 1-z for general cargos. Brooklyn-Kyiv raised $60 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to create the grain complex with an annual capacity of 4.5 million tonnes.
HPC Ukraine (Germany) is the operator of a container terminal on the Quarantine Mole of Odesa seaport and the investor in its expansion. Total investment in the project is UAH 5.18 billion. The construction will be finished in 2018. At present, the readiness of the project is 61.5% and UAH 3.192 billion has been used.
In 2015, state-run enterprises managed by the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine and companies investors signed several memorandums of intent. On July 19, 2015, a memorandum of intent was signed between Illilchivsk Maritime Merchandise Port and Soufflet Negoce S. A. The memo envisages investment in construction of a new terminal on one of the port’s berths. Total investment will be up to $100 million.
On August 13, 2015, a trilateral memo of cooperation between the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority, MV Cargo LLC and AT Cargill on the joint realization of affiliated projects on building a grain handling terminal with berth 25 and the creation of a working water area near the berth 16 meters deep. Total investment is planned at some $130 million.
Then the memorandum of intent was signed between Oktiabrsk Sea Port and public joint-stock company ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih. The document announces joint actions and development of cooperation in the sea transport and metal exports area.
KYIV. Feb 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Astarta agro-industrial holding exported products (grain, soybean products, sugar and heifers) tentatively worth some $120 million, Astarta CEO Viktor Ivanchyk said in Kyiv on Wednesday.
He said that in January-September 2015 the exports share of total sales was 38%. Soy oil and grain are exported by over 90%. The company exported around 30,000 tonnes of sugar in 2015.
He said that currently Astarta is actively working on boosting sugar exports to the EU as there is a shortage of sugar on the European market. In 2015, Astarta exported 10,000 tonnes of sugar to the EU.
“The quota for sugar exports by Ukraine to the EU is 20,700 tonnes. The counter quota is up to 30,000 tonnes. The EU has a chance to supply more sugar to our territory than Ukraine to the EU. Ukraine produces some 1.5 million tonnes of sugar and the EU – over 15 million tonnes which is 10 times more… The huge EU market today faces a shortage. We could cover it, supplying fairly and proportionally to the size of the market. They have ten times more market – give us ten times more quota, 200,000-250,000 tonnes,” he said.
Ivanchyk said that these issues are raised before the government and parliament by nongovernmental and sector organizations, although there is no feedback.
He said that the company is also interested in the markets of the Middle East, North Africa, Southeast Asia, in particular, China, Japan and South Korea.
“India is also an interesting market for us, they did not have a good harvest, and I’m sure that wheat will go there in the near term,” he said.
Astarta does not export its products to the Middle Asia (Kirgizstan and Kazakhstan), Georgia.
“Our government does nothing for opening the markets in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. These markets could seriously expand geography of exports. We fail to develop the market with Turkey. They have large opportunities for developing public private partnership by Ukraine,” he said.
Ivanchyk said that Astarta is working with Chinese companies on signing contracts to export corn. China has distributed the quota, but the contracts will be signed after New Year holiday in China starting from February 15, 2016.
