Kovalska Group is completing the construction of the first phase of a modern autoclaved aerated concrete plant in Rozvadiv village (Lviv region) and has completed the installation of equipment and is preparing for commissioning, the company’s press service reports.
“Investments in the construction of two stages will amount to more than EUR 100 million. This is the largest project in the company’s history. We are building the plant in accordance with European standards, with increased requirements for quality, environmental friendliness, and efficiency. The products will be sold both in Ukraine and abroad,” the group’s CEO Sergiy Pylypenko was quoted as saying in the release.
The first stage’s capacity will allow it to produce almost 600 thousand square meters of aerated concrete products annually, including blocks, panels, U-blocks and reinforced elements. After the second stage is commissioned, the capacity will increase to 1.2 million square meters per year, making Kovalska Aerated Concrete one of the largest producers of autoclaved aerated concrete in Ukraine.
The enterprise is being built on an industrial site of over 140 hectares located 40 km from Lviv, where lime and sand quarries and industrial assets for their processing are already operating.
A Siltek dry mix plant is planned to be built within the same area, which, together with the aerated concrete plant and quarries, will form Kovalska’s western industrial hub, located in close proximity to partners and customers, as well as to the European border.
During construction, special attention was paid to infrastructure.
In addition to the production lines, an administrative and amenity complex, repair shops, warehouses, a hotel, a space with a shop, a food court, a sports ground and a parking area are being built on the site. The architectural design of the complex will reflect Kovalska’s approach to construction: quality, functionality, recognizable style and aesthetics. The non-industrial part of the infrastructure will be open to residents of Rozvadov and guests of the enterprise.
According to the Group’s earnings reports, in 2024, the Group earned UAH 32 million 870 thousand in net profit, which is 24.4% lower than in 2023.
Kovalska Industrial and Construction Group LLC was founded in 2007. The ultimate beneficiaries are Oleksandr and Serhiy Pylypenko (33% each), Volodymyr Surup (17.3%) and Mykola Subotenko (16.7%).
The authorized capital of the group is UAH 62 million 289 thousand 815.
The occupancy rate of Lviv hotels in 2024 dropped to 49% compared to 52% in the same period in 2023, the press service of the Hotel Matrix hotel analytics project reports.
“The year 2024 was a period of significant changes for the Lviv hotel market: the city lost part of its business tourism status to Kyiv. The decline in corporate and business bookings led to a decrease in overall occupancy, which, despite active attempts to increase ADR, could not fully compensate for this loss, leading to a decrease in annual RevPAR compared to 2023,” Hotel Matrix reported.
According to Hotel Matrix, the average daily rate (ADR) for the reporting period amounted to UAH 2785, which is 5.8% more than in the same period in 2023. At the same time, RevPAR (revenue per available room per day) decreased by 3.2% to UAH 1375.
“Despite the 5.8% increase in the average room rate, it was not enough to compensate for the decline in occupancy. This indicates that Lviv hotels, although they were able to adapt their tariff policy, were unable to cope with the complete loss of customer flows, which led to a decline in RevPAR in 2024,” the study says.
It is noted that Lviv hotels should revise their hotel strategies for 2025 to compensate for these changes in the dynamics of customer flow.
Hotel Matrix is a web-based hotel analytics product developed by experts from Poland and Ukraine. It was launched in May 2020. Currently, 200 hotels are connected to Hotel Matrix.
PJSC Concern Khlibprom (Lviv), one of Ukraine’s largest producers of bread and bakery products, posted a net loss of UAH 65.667 million in 2024, compared to a net profit of UAH 70.83 million a year earlier.
According to the agenda of the annual general meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 30 this year in remote mode, the shareholders are proposed to cover the net loss of UAH 161,366 thousand incurred by the company in 2024 at the expense of deferred income, and not to accrue or pay dividends.
In addition, the shareholders are proposed to approve the report of the management and the supervisory board on the financial and economic activities of the company for 2024, to recognize the work of the management and the supervisory board as satisfactory. They also have to approve the reports and conclusions of the audit firm Nexia DK Audit LLC and decide on the need to take the measures recommended by the auditor.
According to Opendatabot, in 2024, Concern Khlibprom PJSC increased its revenue by 7.4% to UAH 2.036 billion, its debt obligations by 1.5 times to UAH 567.38 million, and its assets by 11.4% to UAH 1.19 billion. At the same time, the number of employees decreased by 52 people to 2,601. The company’s authorized capital is UAH 163.55 million.
Concern Khlibprom is one of the largest enterprises in the Ukrainian bread market, producing up to 200 tons of products daily: bread, bakery, confectionery and semi-finished dough products. The company has five processing plants located in Lviv and Vinnytsia regions. It owns the Khlibna Khata, Vinnytsiakhlib, Khlib po-Lvivski, Lyublyanna, Bandinelli, and Panerini trademarks.
The company’s beneficiary is Natalia Antonova, the ex-wife of OKKO Group majority owner Vitaliy Antonov. In October 2024, she acquired a 25.3% stake in Concern Khlibprom from Universal Investment Group LLC and became the owner of 98.1% of the company’s shares.
Director General of the King Daniel Halytskyi International Airport “Lviv” (LWO) Tetyana Romanovska said that the airport may resume flights in late spring or early summer “under an optimistic scenario,” the Lviv edition of High Castle reports.
“We would like the opening of the airport to take place in the summer period, because we understand that the main air traffic falls on vacations, summer and when the day is long. If it happens as early as April or May, it will be very good for us,” Romanovskaya said in an interview.
She added that “five to seven” airlines are ready to work in Lviv, within a month after the launch of the terminal.
“Wizzair, Air Baltic, Turkish Airlines, Sky Up, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, LOT are ready to fly from Lviv. Now we are talking about restoring regular flights from Lviv. Sky Up airline is likely to try to return charter flights. They have a good network of routes in Europe”, – said the head of the airport.
Pozhmashyna Industrial Company (Pryluky, Chernihiv region) has signed an agreement with the Formatsiya.Lviv industrial park to build a new plant, the company reports on its Facebook page.
“The day of January 31, 2025 will go down in the history of not only our company, but also in the history of Ukrainian engineering (…). Realizing all the military and other risks, we are investing $15 million in Ukraine, in the development of the country’s industry, and in job creation,” the statement said.
The construction period is two years.
“Despite everything – a full-scale invasion, all the difficulties and risks, the shameful attitude of the authorities to business that exists today – we, an industrial company, did not run away, did not close production, did not lay off people,” Pozhmashina emphasizes.
As reported, after the outbreak of full-scale hostilities, Pozhmashina partially relocated its production facilities to Lviv.
Pozhmashyna produces a wide range of firefighting, rescue and specialized equipment, and has repeatedly supplied special equipment to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
According to the Clarity Project, in 2023, the company increased its net profit by 19.3% year-on-year to UAH 537.7 million, while net revenue increased 2.2 times to UAH 2 billion 093 million. In January-September 2024, net profit decreased by 2.8 times compared to the first nine months of 2023 to UAH 189.3 million, while revenue more than halved to UAH 946.7 million.
Oleg Averyanov is the founder and ultimate beneficiary of Pozhmashina Industrial Company.
Formatsiya.Lviv Industrial Park was included in the register of industrial parks in October 2023. The concept envisages the location of manufacturing enterprises with a total area of over 150 thousand square meters and the creation of 3,600 jobs on an area of over 30 hectares.
The park was created by Alterra Group in cooperation with Lviv City Council, Kyiv School of Economics and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.
In December 2024, the park received more than UAH 114 million in funding from the Ministry of Economy under the “Made in Ukraine” program for the construction and development of infrastructure.
State-owned Oschadbank (Kyiv) has entered into a 5-year loan agreement with the Lviv City Council for UAH 840 million, of which UAH 718 million will be used to complete the construction of a waste processing plant.
According to the bank’s press release, the rest of the funds will be used to implement four more projects: the construction of an alternative bridge on Kovcha Street, the arrangement of two centers for veterans, and the reconstruction of the power supply system of the Pivnichna shopping center (CHP-2).
“Despite the fact that Oschadbank’s share in financing municipalities is more than 60% of the market, this loan agreement is the first in our cooperation with the Lviv City Council during a full-scale war. As a conscious bank that adheres to ESG principles, we are pleased to participate in the implementation of such an important environmental project for one of the most European cities in the country,” said Yuriy Katsiyon, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the state-owned bank in charge of corporate business, as quoted in a press release on Friday.
In turn, the Lviv City Council’s website states that the volume of construction work at the facility has reached 70%.
According to the release, once launched, the municipal waste recycling facility will be able to process more than 250 thousand tons of waste per year using mechanical and biological methods. This volume is expected to fully meet the city’s solid waste disposal needs.
The Oschad press service added that the Lviv Waste Recycling Plant construction project is also being implemented with the financial support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Eastern European Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P). The waste processing plant covers an area of 9.66 hectares.
The Lviv City Council website specifies that UAH 46.2 million of the total amount of approved funding will be used to build an alternative bridge on Omelyana Kovcha Street, and the remaining UAH 75.8 million will be used to equip two centers for veterans and reconstruct the power supply system of the Pivnichna shopping center (CHP-2).
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), as of November 1, 2024, Oschadbank ranked 2nd (UAH 340.77 billion) among 62 banks in the country in terms of total assets. The financial institution earned UAH 12.78 billion in net profit for 10 months of this year, compared to UAH 14.58 billion in the same period last year.
