Moldovan authorities plan to complete a feasibility study by the end of 2024 on the construction of the country’s first multimodal logistics complex at the Beresti railway station in Ungheni (5 km from the border with Romania), the Moldovan Ministry of Economy said. The project is being implemented with technical support from USAID under the Institutional and Structural Reforms in Moldova program. Once the feasibility study is finalized, a tender to find an investor will be announced.
“The ambitious project includes rail and road access roads, container cranes, loading and unloading platforms, warehouses, and a fleet of trucks. It is estimated that the infrastructure will be able to handle up to 200,000 trucks annually, with cargo transshipment of about 4 million tons. Beresti terminal will become a regional logistics hub, integrating Moldova into the global transportation and logistics network,” the report says.
Currently, the main carriers from the East and West prefer to choose routes bypassing Moldova due to the lack of logistics infrastructure.
Beresti railway station is located 106 km from Chisinau, outside the city of Ungheni on the northern side, on the railway corridor that goes to the city of Balti and continues further to the border with Ukraine. The strategic location of the station is due to the proximity of the Romanian/EU border (5 km), as well as the connection to numerous industrial facilities and transportation routes.
The Beresti terminal site covers an area of 80 hectares, is owned by the state and managed by the State Enterprise “Railways of Moldova”. The site’s railroad tracks allow the use of both wide gauge (1520 mm) and European gauge (1435 mm).
According to Moldovan media, investments in the project are estimated at 30 million euros, the construction of the facility will take 24-30 months.
Ukrainian development company Alterra Group has insured in IC INGO (Kiev) the construction of a new logistics center PORT2 in Lviv region, according to the insurer’s press release.
It is also noted that Alterra Group has partially insured the first part of the logistics center PORT (PORT1), including the economic building and communications PORT1. In addition, the construction of the second part of PORT(PORT2) was fully insured against military risks. All buildings, including finishing, communications and glass, as well as construction and installation works and materials (including construction materials) or elements of the building that have not been put into operation are insured.
The sum of insurance coverage amounts to UAH 20 mln.
According to the insurance contract, IC INGO undertakes to indemnify the cost of restoration of insured objects in case of their damage or destruction as a result of military actions, including hit by missiles or their debris, drones, other types of armed aggression or defense actions.
Additionally, in case of an insured event, INGO compensates for the costs of clearing the territory of the insured object, firefighting costs, other measures that will help prevent or reduce the amount of damage, as well as payment for the services of engaged specialists and overtime expenses.
According to Dmitry Kovalchuk, founder of Alterra Group, such an insurance contract will facilitate cooperation with potential clients and investors, especially during construction.
“This is an important first step for business, as it demonstrates the private sector’s ability to adapt to challenges and stay ahead of government protection mechanisms that are sorely lacking,” says Dmitry Kovalchuk.
Director for Corporate Business of INGO Insurance Company Andriy Semchenko, in his turn, noted that insurers should cover war risks of Ukrainian business for the sake of promoting the Ukrainian economy. Even despite the fact that now the Ukrainian insurance market is left without the support of Western reinsurers for military risks.
“Yes, it is difficult for domestic insurance companies to provide substantial coverage limits, but we simply have no other choice – entrepreneurs should receive guarantees of protection and continue to work in Ukraine, rather than taking business abroad,” said Andriy Semchenko.
JSC “Insurance company “INGO” provides insurance services for 30 years. Since 2017, the main shareholder is the Ukrainian business group DCH.
“INGO” is a full member of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTSBU), a member of the American Chamber of Commerce (ACC), the European Business Association (EBA), the National Association of Insurers of Ukraine (NASU) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
Nigeria intends to implement new logistics projects to increase and make more predictable the exports of agricultural products from Ukraine, a similar intention announced earlier by Senegal.
The Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi has reached the relevant agreements during the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Jeffrey Onyeama and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Mohammad Mahmoud Abubakar, the website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy reported on Wednesday evening.
It is specified that the meeting took place within the framework of the visit of the delegation of the Ukrainian Ministry to the countries of Africa.
The parties discussed opportunities for cooperation and expansion of trade relations between the countries, in particular the creation of a logistics hub for permanent supplies of agricultural raw materials and food products.
As reported, on January 9, Solskyy signed a memorandum of understanding in Senegal, which provides for the development of bilateral trade in agricultural products, cooperation in scientific research, investment, relations between public institutions and private organizations of Ukraine and Senegal.
It also refers to the possibility of storage of Ukrainian grain in the so-called grain hubs. At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy said at the meeting that Ukraine is ready to export to African countries not only agricultural products, but also other goods, but it is necessary to focus on the development of logistics.
