Business news from Ukraine

“Kryvyi Rih Cement” to build 24 MW of power generation – founder of Concorde Capital

Kryvyi Rih Cement plans to build 24 MW of power generation, the founder of Concorde Capital, Igor Mazepa, said on Facebook.

“We are currently building an independent power generation facility at Kryvyi Rih Cement. We need to generate 24 MW of power. This will be enough to keep the plant running smoothly,” he wrote.

According to him, the project will cost about $15 million, with a payback period of three to four years.

According to Mazepa, “This is a necessary measure to keep the business from stopping. In general, I see the prospect of investing in energy projects. Therefore, in the short term, we will build 40 MW of storage capacity, which will be balancing in the energy market. We see a good ROI of up to 30% depending on the market scenario.”

“Kryvyi Rih Cement (formerly Heidelberg Cement Ukraine) produces construction materials in three areas: cement, concrete, and granite crushed stone. On May 14, 2019, Cypriot Overin Limited, which is affiliated with Concorde Capital, became the owner of the dominant controlling stake in the company.

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DTEK Energy Holding has signed agreement with Polish company to build energy storage system in Poland

DTEK Energy Holding, through its EU-focused subsidiary DRI, has signed an agreement with Polish company Columbus Energy to build a 133 MW energy storage system in southern Poland.
“On March 27, DRI signed a definitive binding share purchase agreement with Polish company Columbus Energy, which will give it the right to build a 133 MW battery storage facility in southern Poland, subject to permits,” DTEK said in a release on its website on Wednesday.
DTEK notes that this is the largest energy storage system (ESS) project in Poland, and the agreement is its first major infrastructure investment in the country and a key element in the company’s plan to create a pan-European energy system uniting Ukraine and the EU. DTEK’s goal is to create a 5 GW portfolio of renewable energy projects in Europe by 2030 through DRI.
The acquisition of the 133 MW SPP project makes DTEK Group one of the first companies to develop this technology on a large scale in Poland, the release said.
DRI expects to close the deal with Columbus in the coming months and start construction of the facility in Q4 2024 to complete it and put it into operation in early 2026. The project is committed to providing energy capacity to the Polish market for 17 years (from 2027).
“Today’s signing marks an exciting moment in Europe’s quest to move beyond fossil fuels. This project will not only provide vital flexibility on Poland’s path to a renewable future, but will also be an important achievement for Central and Eastern Europe in demonstrating how battery storage can be successfully developed. DTEK’s investments in the country are a crucial step towards the integration of the energy systems of Ukraine and Poland,” said Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK Group, as quoted in the release.
According to Krzysztof Kokhanowski, Vice President of the Board and CEO of PIME, the largest association in the energy storage industry in Poland, it is gratifying to see international energy players like DTEK investing in the Polish battery market through its EU subsidiary.
“Poland is one of the leaders in the European Union in the production of batteries and battery cells, and in the next 5 years it will be one of the leaders in the construction of energy storage facilities based on battery technology. The construction of this new facility will certainly contribute to our country’s efforts,” he said.
According to the release, Poland currently uses 30 GW of coal and natural gas-fired power to balance its energy system, which is increasingly using renewable energy sources and shifting from centralized to distributed generation. The batteries will help to ensure the grid’s performance and provide the power system with a reliable mechanism for balancing the unstable nature of renewable energy.
As reported, DTEK Group implemented a 1 MW pilot project in Enerhodar in 2021, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is now under occupation. In early 2024, DRI launched its first projects in Europe: in Romania, the 60 MW Ruginoasa wind farm and the 53 MW Glodeni solar power plant. It also intends to develop renewable energy in Romania, Italy, and Croatia.

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Ukrainian company Avtomagistral-Pivden to build airport in Romania

Romania has signed an agreement with a consortium of concessionaires Avant Airports and Avtomagistral-Pivden to build a new airport near Bucharest, the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine.

The new airport may be built on the site of a decommissioned military airfield in the town of Alexene, 66 km from Bucharest, and will be an alternative to the airport in Otopeni. It will be able to handle all categories of cargo, accept wide-body, long-haul aircraft such as Boeing 777 or Airbus A330, create conditions for attracting low-cost airlines, and specialize in aircraft maintenance.

“We see Aleksene Airport as a state-of-the-art aviation hub and a driver of economic growth both for the Ialomita region and Romania as a whole. In Ukraine, our company has participated in the reconstruction of airports in Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odesa. In Romania, we are completing the reconstruction of the Satu Mare airport runway, and now we have the opportunity to participate in what is probably the largest and most ambitious infrastructure project in Romania. Our victory in the tender is evidence of the trust in the company on the part of Romanian partners. If we manage to attract investment and implement the project, it will help us open the EU market,” said Mykola Tymofeev, CEO of Avtomagistral-Pivden.

The concept of the future airport will include a passenger terminal with an area of 30 thousand square meters, capable of handling 6.5 million passengers annually, as well as a cargo terminal of 20 thousand square meters to handle more than 10 thousand tons of cargo per year. The project’s facilities also include a 30,000-square-meter aircraft repair and maintenance facility, an aviation academy, fuel stations, customs, and a photovoltaic park designed to ensure the airport’s energy independence.

The project developer, Avant Airports, notes that it has attracted a team of the best civil aviation experts from more than 15 countries to develop the project. “Avtomagistral-Pivden will be responsible for the execution of the work.

During the signing of the concession agreement with the local community, the Jalomica region, Avant Airports co-founder Mircea Tudor noted that the company plans to build the world’s first passive airport and certify it according to BREEAM.

Alexene Airport will be Romania’s first private airport. Only the first stage has been completed, with a concession agreement signed with the local community. Now the developer can begin the process of attracting investments, which are estimated at EUR 400 million. The project will take four years to complete.

Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC has been on the market since 2004. It designs and builds highways, bridges, interchanges, airfield complexes, and hydraulic structures. The company’s owner is listed in Opendatabot as Oleksandr Boyko. According to the financial results for 2023, the company’s net profit amounted to UAH 624.9 million, and revenue was UAH 8.215 billion.

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Igor Liski plans to build window glass plant in Ukraine

Businessman Igor Liski has announced the construction of a $240 million window glass plant in Kyiv region.

“I can now officially announce our new super-ambitious project, which we have been developing for over a year,” Liski wrote on Facebook.

Liski told The Wall Street Journal that he plans to invest about $80 million in the project. According to him, raising project financing is the main challenge when launching a project.

Liski is the owner of the investment holding EFI Group (Effective Investments). His investment areas include healthcare and medtech, paper, food, and woodworking industries, and agricultural supplies.

The company’s businesses include Feednova, an animal fats and feed additives producer, Medical Star healthcare network, Zhytomyr Cardboard Mill, Sam Ecopack, a cardboard packaging manufacturer, Forest Technology, an agricultural products supplier, Efi Agro, and Doc.ua, an online medical hub.

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German construction materials company Fixit receives investment insurance from Germany to build second plant in Ukraine

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal says that German construction materials company Fixit has received investment insurance from the German government to build a second plant in Ukraine.

“We want German business to invest in Ukraine, to invest in recovery, and within the framework of the forum we are signing important documents… The building materials company Fixit will build a second plant in Ukraine and will receive investment insurance from the German government for this purpose, which will be signed here on the sidelines of the business conference,” Shmyhal said at a press conference at the sixth German-Ukrainian Economic Forum in Berlin on Tuesday.

According to the prime minister, Fixit will also receive a EUR12 million loan from the German bank KfW. “This is a very important and significant project,” he emphasized.

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“Chumak” intends to build plant for processing tomatoes into paste in Odessa region

The Chumak PJSC intends to build a plant for processing tomatoes into paste in Odessa Region, as the company considers this region to be the most favorable in terms of climatic conditions, the director of the department of agrarian policy, food and land relations of the Odessa OVA, Alla Stoyanova, has said on Facebook.
The official recalled that Ukraine covers its domestic needs in vegetables at the expense of imports. According to Stoyanova, in Odessa region in 2023, the sown area of vegetable crops is 1489 hectares, of which 476.6 hectares are allocated for tomatoes, 307.1 hectares – onions, 95.11 hectares – carrots, 81.87 hectares – cabbage, 22.75 hectares – cucumbers, 434.44 – other vegetable crops.
The Director of the Department also informed that relocation of production facilities of Chumak PJSC to Odessa region will be a significant support for agro-industrial complex of the region and will create almost 5000 additional jobs.
The director of “Evrika” LLC Mikhail Bely suggested “systematic and balanced approach to the issue of product logistics”, which will facilitate the delivery of products to farmers for processing and will help the company “Chumak”.
Farmers present at the meeting expressed their willingness to expand production areas under tomato production.
“Vegetable farming is a high-cost business. It depends on irrigation and acquisition of specialized machinery, because farmers massively complain about the shortage of workers. In addition to investments in mechanization of production, attention should also be paid to storage and processing of products. We have a huge potential – natural, logistical (…), human”, summarized Stoyanova.

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