Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that a feasibility study (feasibility study) of the project of laying a power transmission line along the bottom of the Black Sea, which envisages supplying “green” energy from Azerbaijan to Europe via Georgia, will be submitted by November.
“In December last year, an agreement was signed between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania, certified by the European Commission, on the construction of an integrated “green” power transmission line from Azerbaijan to Europe along the bottom of the Black Sea. The work on the feasibility study has already started. We expect it to be presented probably in September-October,” Aliyev said in Shusha.
On December 17, 2022, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary signed a strategic partnership agreement in Bucharest on the construction of Black Sea Energy submarine electric cable with a capacity of 1,000 MW and a length of 1,195 km. The cable will be designed to supply “green” electricity generated in Azerbaijan through Georgia and the Black Sea to Romania for subsequent transportation to Hungary and the rest of Europe.
In June, it was decided that Bulgaria would join the project.
The laying of the cable will take 3-4 years.
The European Commission plans to provide 2.3 billion euros for laying the cable, which will be the longest in the world.
The leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary have signed an agreement on laying a submarine electric cable under the Black Sea to supply Azerbaijani energy to Europe.
Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission (EC), considers the Black Sea electricity cable project, which will supply Azerbaijan with electricity to Europe, ambitious.
“I can only say: what an ambitious project (of the Black Sea electric cable). It will connect us on both sides of the Black Sea and go further toward the Caspian Sea – both for digital communications and energy,” von der Leyen said Saturday at a signing ceremony in Bucharest for the “Strategic Partnership Agreement on the Development and Transmission of Green Energy between the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary.”
She said the implementation of the agreements will help the European Union strengthen security of supply by transmitting electricity from renewable sources to the EU through Romania and Hungary. “A cable under the Black Sea could supply electricity to our neighbors in Moldova and the Western Balkans and, of course, to Ukraine,” the EC head said.
According to EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Oliver Varghea, an agreement between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary on a submarine cable for electricity transmission via the Black Sea (Black Sea Energy) was signed as part of a EUR 17 billion European investment plan.
The nearly 1,200-kilometer cable will transmit electricity from Azerbaijan and Georgia to Romania and Hungary. The project is to be implemented within six years.
On Wednesday in Istanbul, at the negotiations on navigation in the Black Sea, a meeting of Ukrainian and Turkish representatives will first take place, and then an expanded meeting between Ukraine, Turkey, the UN and Russia. This was announced by Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak in a Telegram channel.
“Unblocking Ukrainian ports is one of the key components of global food security. We need to do this as soon as possible. We believe that the issue of unblocking Ukrainian grain exports should be resolved under the auspices of the UN. Secretary General António Guterres is involved in this process, we are grateful to him for this,” Yermak said.
He said “the strong position of our military in the Black Sea will allow the return of safe navigation of ships, which is also important for ensuring the protection of national and regional security. This is a priority for Ukraine. This will restore the export of Ukrainian grain and ensure the food security of the world.”
According to him, a round of negotiations on navigation in the Black Sea will be held tomorrow in Istanbul. “A meeting of Ukrainian and Turkish representatives is planned there. After that, an expanded meeting will be held between Ukraine, Turkey, the UN and Russia, at which the issues of the functioning of sea corridors for grain exports should be discussed. For Ukraine, the issue of security is a key one. I will tell you the details in due course,” the head of the President’s Office said.
The profile ministries of Ukraine and Lithuania have agreed to launch a pilot project to develop multimodal transportation between the countries, according to the website of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine on Thursday.
In Klaipeda, Lithuania, a meeting was held between Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov and Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania Marius Skuodis, during which the parties discussed issues of strengthening cooperation and prospects for new projects.
“Partnership in the field of transport is one of the priorities. We are restoring a dialogue on the implementation of an old idea – connecting the Baltic and Black Sea regions by rail. For both countries this is a chance to optimize logistics, increase the load on seaports and enter new world markets. We have already agreed to launch a pilot project, within the framework of which we will develop multimodal traffic between countries, including by increasing the flow of semi-trailers,” Kubrakov is quoted as saying.
He also noted the relevance of the resumption of the passenger railway route “four capitals” from Kyiv to Riga.
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, there are currently large cargo flows between the Baltic and Black Sea regions, but the share of cargo moving from Ukraine is very low. At Klaipeda seaport, Ukrainian cargo accounts for only about 1-2% of all cargo. At the same time, according to the estimates of the Lithuanian side, the flow of goods from Ukraine could potentially be 10 times higher.
“For the implementation of multimodal cargo transportation by sea and rail, road semi-trailers will also be used as intermodal transport units. To make this possible, the ministry will initiate amendments to Ukrainian legislation, which will allow semi-trailers to be classified as cargo, and not as a vehicle,” the report said.
The launch of the pilot project is planned for September this year.
The successful implementation of the agreement, as noted in the Ministry of Infrastructure, has the potential to make Klaipeda seaport in Lithuania the northern gateway of Ukraine to Scandinavia and at the same time Odesa – the southern sea gate of Lithuania to the Black Sea region.
BALTIC STATES, BLACK SEA, DEVELOPMENT, LITHUANIA, TRANSPORTATION
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) predicts an economic decline in the Black Sea region of more than 5% of GDP in 2020 with a further recovery of 3-3.5% of GDP in the next two years, president of the bank Dmytro Pankin has said.
“What we know is that the Black Sea region (along with the rest of the world) is going to experience contraction in 2020, most likely in excess of 5%. However, due to the low base, we expect a rebound in 2021 and probably well into 2022, leading to growth averaging 3.0-3.5% in 2021-2022,” Pankin said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“Despite the contraction observed in 2020, there is still a robust demand for BSTDB financing, which our bank is happily providing, although the nature of the demand has changed. Many large-scale investments have been deferred, or even cancelled, and we are seeing more demand for direct corporate lending, and for support to SMEs through local financial institutions. We would expect this demand to increase as economies rebound in 2021 and 2022, in parallel to a rebound in larger investments and infrastructure operations,” the banker said.
“As we all know, relaxed monetary policies and expansionary fiscal policies have resulted in ample global liquidity, which benefits both developed and developing countries. As a development bank, we try to direct this cheap financing to real economic activities both in Ukraine and other countries,” he said.
“However, issues with political stability can inhibit or at best, postpone those investments. To fully take advantage of this ample liquidity Ukraine and all other countries need stability, working rule of law, good governance, and other related factors in place. This is particularly relevant for infrastructure investments,” he said.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure has announced competitions for the transfer of the property of the state companies Olvia Stevedoring Company (Mykolaiv) and Kherson Maritime Merchant Port and the relevant property of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority. According to an article published in the government newspaper Uriadovy Kurier, the concession for Olvia will be granted for 35 years, while the one for Kherson port will be granted for 30 years.
The main task for the two pilot projects is to bring international practices and technology to Ukrainian ports.
By law, the competition and determination of a winner must be completed in a little over three months.
The concessionaires are expected to provide a total of UAH 17.3 billion in investment for Olvia and UAH 1.4 billion for Kherson port. Investment will be aimed at renovating infrastructure and developing the ports.
Plans for the first three years include the construction of a new grain terminal with a capacity of 2 million tonnes per year at Olvia (UAH 1.56 billion) and high-priority modernization at Kherson port (UAH 216 million).
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, more than 25 companies from Ukraine, the United States, China, France, Switzerland, the UK, Japan, Turkey, Qatar, and South Korea have expressed interest in the concessions. Nibulon, one of Ukraine’s biggest grain traders, said it might invest in Kherson port.
