Vasyl Khmelnytsky, the founder of the UFuture holding, is considering the creation of an industrial park on the territory of the Syhnivka industrial zone in Lviv for the relocation of Ukrainian enterprises.
“We are considering the option of creating an industrial park here [in Lviv] so that our production facilities do not go abroad, but remain in Ukraine and create jobs in our country,” the entrepreneur said on Facebook after a meeting with Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy on Tuesday.
According to Khmelnytsky, the possibility of implementing the project is currently being discussed.
UFuture is a holding company that brings together Khmelnytsky’s business and social projects. It has a diversified portfolio of assets in real estate, infrastructure, industry, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and IT. The value of UFuture’s assets is estimated at $500 million. The total capitalization of the businesses in which it has invested is up to $1 billion.
Ukraine has stopped power unit No. 1 of the Khmelnytsky NPP, which remained in operation after power unit No. 2 was taken out for repair, as a result of which only seven of the 15 existing power units are operating in the power system, the International Nuclear Energy Agency (IAEA) reported, citing the Ukrainian nuclear regulator SNRIU.
According to the IAEA’s daily report on Ukraine on its website late on Saturday evening, the agency explained the shutdown of the remaining power unit by taking it out for scheduled repairs.
“Seven reactors are operating in the country, including two at the Russian-controlled Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, three at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant and two at the Yuzhno-Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant. Other reactors have been shut down for regular maintenance, including both units of the Khmelnytsky Nuclear Power Plant,” the statement said.
As reported, since February 18, KhNPP power unit No. 2 was shut down for scheduled preventive maintenance, lasting approximately 92 days.
According to the IAEA, power unit No. 2 of the Rivne NPP was recently put into repair, after which 8 out of 15 power units remained in operation.
Earlier, NNEGC Energoatom reported that three ZNPP power units were put into reserve after the station was occupied by Russian invaders, only one is under repair.
Khmelnytsky NPP consisting of two power units (VVER-1000) with a total capacity of 2000 MW is located in Netishyn (Khmelnytsky region).
In total, there are 15 power units in Ukraine equipped with water-cooled power reactors with a total installed electrical capacity of 13.835 GW.
Entrepreneur Vasyl Khmelnytsky, as a loan guarantee, indirectly owns 20% of shares in the European company TKB Pacific Worldwide, which in turn owns 25% in Russia’s INK-NefteGasGeologiya, but plans to withdraw from shareholders by the end of 2022 after full repayment of the loan.
“I’m not doing business in Russia and have not invested in the acquisition of shares of Irkutsk Oil Company (INK),” Khmelnytsky commented to Interfax-Ukraine on the publication of the Russian edition of Forbes that he could be a co-owner of several INK assets.
The Ukrainian businessman explained that he has known the owner of TKB Pacific Worldwide for 35 years (according to Forbes, 80% of the company belongs to Russian woman Arina Nikolaeva).
“The securities are registered for me with the right to buy back. At the moment, most of the loan has already been repaid. I do not take part in operating activities and management. I do not receive dividends from activities,” Khmelnytsky stressed.
He clarified that in 2017, TKB Pacific Worldwide exercised an option to purchase a 25% stake in subsidiary INK-NefteGasGeologiya, whose oil production does not exceed 2% of INK’s total oil production.
“I have nothing to do with this transaction and do not receive income from the securities of the Russian company,” the Ukrainian businessman said.
The Russian edition indicated that INK-NefteGasGeologiya holds licenses for the Ayan block and the Ayan gas field.
Khmelnytsky in October 2017 united his business projects and social initiatives under the brand UFuture Investment Group (Brussels). UFuture is a holding company with a diversified portfolio of assets in real estate, infrastructure, industry, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and IT. UFuture’s assets are estimated at $ 550 million. The total capitalization of the businesses in which it has invested exceeds $ 1 billion.
Businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky is looking for a partner for the joint development of Kyiv Sikorsky International Airport (Zhuliany).
“I am now looking for a partner in the airport [Kyiv International Airport]. But it is important for me not just to sell the airport, but to find partners who have a slot of aircraft, who have a reputation in this business, who have cheap loans, who will do the right strategy for the airport. I need their experience,” Vasyl Khmelnytsky said during an interview with co-owner and CEO of TIS port Andriy Stavnitser.
The businessman also stressed that synergy with a partner is important to him.
As reported, Khmelnytsky announced that he plans to continue investing in Kyiv airport.
Kyiv International Airport is located 7 km from the center of the capital. It ranks second in Ukraine in terms of the number of flights and passenger traffic. The airport has three terminals with a total area of 21,000 square meters. The airport runway allows accepting aircraft such as Boeing-737, Airbus A-320. However, even with the A-320, there are loading restrictions on long haul flights.
Based on the results of the 2010 investment tender, the airport is managed by Master-Avia, which has entered into a 49-year lease agreement for the airport property. According to the company, during this time it has invested more than $ 50 million in the creation of new airport infrastructure and is still using all available resources to pay off the loan. The beneficiaries of the company, according to the unified state register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, are Vasyl Khmelnytsky and Kostrzhevsky.
In March 2019, Khmelnytsky said that his UFuture business group owns 90% of the shares of Master-Avia LLC, another 10% in the company belongs to Khmelnytsky’s partner Denys Kostrzhevsky.
Master-Avia owns terminals and the apron, and the airfield and the runway are on the balance sheet of municipal enterprise Kyiv International Airport (Zhuliany).
The city of Odesa in June this year attracted five-year loans from the state-owned Oschadbank, Ukreximbank and Ukrgasbank for a total of UAH 1.2 billion, and the cities of Lviv, Novomoskovsk and Khmelnytsky – three more five-year loans for UAH 350 million.
According to the information of the Ministry of Finance on its website, apart from Khmelnytsky, all loans were obtained at a floating rate pegged to the key policy rate of the National Bank of Ukraine.
In the case of Odesa, the loan price was the NBU key policy rate + 4.5%: Oschadbank and Ukreximbank each allocated UAH 450 million, and Ukrgasbank – UAH 300 million.
Lviv managed to attract funds the cheapest of all – UAH 220 million from Ukrgasbank at the NBU key policy rate + 2.5%, while the smaller city – Novomoskovsk (Dnipropetrovsk region) raised UAH 70 million from Ukreximbank at the NBU key policy rate + 5.3%.
Khmelnytsky was able to get UAH 60 million from Ukrgasbank at 11.9%.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) a part of the Green Cities Framework 2 will provide a senior loan of up to EUR 28.5 million to Communal Enterprise Spetskomuntrans to finance the rehabilitation and modernisation of solid waste infrastructure in the City of Khmelnytsky estimated at EUR 36.5 million.
The decision was made by the bank’s board on September 2, EBRD Senior External Relations Advisor Anton Usov has told Interfax-Ukraine.
The senior loan split into several tranches co-financed by up to EUR 5.0 million investment grant from the EU Neighbourhood Investment Platform and up to EUR 3.0 million local contribution.
The phase I of the project will address the city’s urgent investment needs with respect to the rehabilitation of the existing landfill, the construction of a new engineered sanitary landfill in compliance with the EU standards adjacent to the old one, the acquisition of new landfill equipment to ensure sustainable operation of the new landfill, and improvements of the solid waste collection and transportation systems co-financed from the city’s budget.
The phase II of the project includes the construction of a new material recovery facility for non-organic waste and a separate composting facility for pre-sorted organic waste that will reduce the share of solid waste going to the landfill by promoting recycling and providing a modern solid waste management infrastructure with respect to sorting and composting. The project will ensure that a long-term, sustainable solid waste management strategy is properly implemented.
EBRD, KHMELNYTSKY, LOAN, PROBLEM, WASTE
