KYIV. Oct 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Energoatom has already spent $567 million of its own funds on the integrated (consolidated) program to improve the safety of power units at Ukrainian nuclear power plants (NPP), the deputy director for investment and long-term development at the enterprise, Hryhoriy Plachkov, has told reporters.
The company used international organizations’ funds to only pay for a consultant to assist in the project implementation and the 1% commission of the bank. Energoatom plans to use EUR11-13 million by the end of 2015, in 2016 – another EUR125-160 million.
Plachkov also said that the interest rate on a EUR 300 million loan from the EBRD is Libor plus 1, and the rate on a loan from the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) will be determined separately for each used tranche of EUR50 million.
“Believe me there is no cheaper credit money in the world divided into such a period,” he said, adding that the repayment of interest on the loan servicing and repayment will be made at the expense of the company’s tariff for electricity sales.
According to him, Energoatom intends to recalculate the total cost of financing the program in the first half of 2016.
“We intend to revise the total cost of the program. The company is working to clarify the overall figures. I think we’ll know them in the first half of 2016,” he said.
VILNIUS. Oct 21 (Interfax/BNS) – Lithuanian company Neo Group, owned by Ukrainian group Retal Industries, plans to invest nearly EUR50 million in building a plant for to produce granulated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone, according to the Lithuanian business newspaper Verslo zinios.
The new plant, which will be located adjacent to the existing enterprise of Neo Group, will have a production line with an annual capacity of 160,000 tonnes of granulated PET.
The plant is to be commissioned in late 2017 or early 2018.
Companies using granulated PET for the production of various types of packaging for consumer products work near the Neo Group plant in Klaipeda.
Retal Industries unites companies in Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Russia, France, Italy, Ukraine and several other countries. According to the Ukrainian state register of legal entities, the beneficiary of Retal Industries is businessman Anatoliy Martynov.
Retal Group is engaged in the production of PET performs, film, and LDPE caps.
KYIV. Oct 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises in September 2015 saw steel production rise by 14.1% compared with July 2014, to 2.061 million tonnes, however the country fell to 11th in the ranking of the 66 countries that are the world’s major manufacturers of steel, compiled by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel).
Steel production in September fell in all of the top ten states.
The top ten steel producing countries in September were China (66.12 million tonnes, a fall of 3%), Japan (8.573 million tonnes, a drop of 7.3%), India (7.261 million tonnes, a decline of 1.4%), the United States (6.682 million tonnes, a drop of 8.5%), South Korea (5.615 million tonnes, a fall of 2.7%), Russia (5.528 million tonnes, a decline of 3.2%), Germany (3.379 million tonnes, a fall of 3.9%), Brazil (2.501 million tonnes, a fall of 13%), Turkey (2.489 million tonnes, a drop of 14.1%), and Italy (2.083 million tonnes, a fall of 3.9%).
Ukraine ranked 11th (2.061 million tonnes, a rise of 14.1%) and Taiwan was 12th (1.76 million tonnes, a decrease of 6%).
In September 2015, the 66 countries produced 130.938 million tonnes of steel, which is 3.7% less than in September 2014.
In January-September 2015, the top ten steel producing countries were China (608.94 million tonnes, a fall of 2.1%), Japan (78.81 million tonnes, a drop of 5.2%), India (67.575 million tonnes, growth of 3.1%), the United States (60.629 million tonnes, a drop of 8.6%), Russia (53.304 million tonnes, a decline of 0.5%), South Korea (51.868 million tonnes, a drop of 3.4%), Germany (32.572 million tonnes, a rise of 0.1%), Brazil (25.253 million tonnes, a decline of 1.2%), Turkey (23.78 million tonnes, a drop of 7.8%), and Ukraine (17.106 million tonnes, a drop of 20.5%).
During the first nine months of 2015, Taiwan ranked 11th (16.807 million tonnes, a drop of 0.6%) and Italy was 12th (16.728 million tonnes, a drop of 8.8%)
In general, for the nine months of 2015, the 66 countries manufactured 1.637 billion tonnes of steel, which is 1.1% more than in the same period in 2014.
ODESA. Oct 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, together with private entrepreneurs, will finance the construction of a new customs terminal in Odesa, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said.
“Under my instructions the ports agency has concentrated the necessary funds for the construction of the terminal,” he said at a briefing in Odesa.
Head of Odesa Regional State Administration Mikheil Saakashvili said in turn that the terminal will be built in three or four months and will meet all modern requirements.
He also said that his deputy Yulia Marushevska’s lack of experience, who will head the Odesa customs, “is not a problem but an advantage.”
“Thanks God she has no professional customs education. Customs education is the formation of an exactor,” Saakashvili said.
Poroshenko previously reported that deputy head of Odesa Regional State Administration Yulia Marushevska would be appointed as head of the Odesa customs.
KYIV. Oct 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Ukraine Zhang Xiyun have discussed the prospects of Chinese investment in Kyiv’s transport and infrastructure facilities, the press service of Kyiv City State Administration has reported.
Xiyun assured Klitschko that Chinese investors and businessmen are interested in the capital’s investment projects.
The ambassador said that Beijing is ready to consider projects in Kyiv and to make investments, in particular in the development of the metro, roads, and social infrastructure facilities.
For his part, Klitschko said that he would instruct the Kyiv Investment Agency to draw up investment projects which would be interesting for China.
“Beijing’s experience in city development might be an example for Kyiv, also in social infrastructure development. Such experience gives an opportunity not just to see how a multi-million Chinese metropolitan city functions, but also will help to escape the mistakes in the Kyiv transport infrastructure development,” Klitschko said.
KYIV. Oct 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Agricultural Policy and Food Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Pavlenko has said that a commodity exchange should be launched in Ukraine.
He said that the top managers of Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a trading leader, recently visited Ukraine and analyzed the creation of a commodity exchange in Ukraine and the guarantees for its efficient functioning.
“After the meeting it was decided to create a working group to launch the commodity exchange. I’m sure that this step would promote the development of the agricultural sector and the Ukrainian economy in general,” he said.
Pavlenko said that the creation of a commodity exchange would strengthen Ukraine’s economic position in the world.
