French architect and president of the Architecture et Maîtres d’Ouvrage (AMO) association Martin Duplantier, who created D Architecture Ukraine LLC for projects of restoration and development of Ukrainian cities in the face of full-scale Russian aggression, will develop a concept for a public garden in the center of Mykolaiv.
“Mykolaiv City Council signed a memorandum of cooperation with French architect Martin Duplantier. The goal of this cooperation is to create an aesthetically pleasing and high-quality urban environment in Mykolaiv in accordance with European urban principles,” Yevhen Polyakov, director of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning at Mykolaiv City Council, told Interfax-Ukraine.
The architect chose a park of over 9,000 square meters located in the Central District (along 17, 19 Heroiv Ukrayiny Avenue). This square has the potential to become a kind of attraction point for residents of neighboring buildings and passersby as a place for quiet and active recreation.
Work is currently underway to develop conceptual design solutions, which will last from early September to late November. Design work is being carried out without the involvement of budgetary funds.
Martin Maurice Henri Duplantier is an architect and urbanist, head of the French bureau Martin Duplantier Architectes, president of the Association of Architecture et Maîtres d’Ouvrage (AMO). In March 2022, he assembled a team in Lviv and began projects to analyze the destruction with a view to rebuilding Ukraine.
In April 2023, he founded D Architecture Ukraine LLC with an authorized capital of UAH 200 thousand. The projects under implementation include the project of the Maria Prymachenko Museum in Ivankiv, the restoration of the Uvariv House, and the creation of a new Ukrainian-French cultural center in Vorzel (presented to the public, seeking funding). Territorial development plans are being drafted (Chernihiv, Izyum, Nizhyn). The agency is also working on dual-purpose bomb shelters for schools across Ukraine.
Mykolaivpastrans municipal enterprise of Mykolaiv City Council has announced a tender for the purchase of low-floor buses worth up to EUR4.5 million under the “Urban Public Transport of Ukraine” project, financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
According to information in ProZorro on Friday, the relevant announcement was posted in the online version of the EU Official Gazette on April 5. The disclosure of the bids is scheduled for May 31.
According to the announcement, the terms of the tender provide for the supply of buses between 8.2 m and 10.5 m in length, including basic and consumable spare parts, equipment and tools for maintenance and repair, and related services.
The buses must be diesel-powered, with access without steps by at least two doors, 2.55-3.5 m wide, have a passenger capacity of at least 60 people, including at least 24 seated (plus one space for a wheelchair).
The first batch of buses must be delivered no later than five months from the date of receipt of advance payment by the supplier, and the completion of the contract – in 12 months.
According to the website of Mykolaiv City Council, at the end of March this year, the resumption of cooperation with the EIB on the project “Urban public transport of Ukraine” on the local television channel said the head of “Nikolaevpastrans” Alexey Ushakov.
As reported, the previous similar tender within this project was announced in September 2021 with the opening of bids at the end of November. However, the procurement procedure was halted due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the rf.
Nikolaev had attempted to purchase buses within the framework of this program before: the relevant tender was announced in March 2021, it was supposed to purchase buses with the length from 8.8 to 9.5 m.
However, in July of the same year, the tender was canceled after all bids were rejected (they were submitted by the Ukrainian dealer of Minsk Bus Plant – the company Modern Trucks and the Chernihiv Automobile Plant).
“The winner according to all requirements of the tender is the representative of MAZ in Ukraine. However, due to the sanctions imposed by the EU on the Belarusian companies, it was decided to announce a new tender and invite more participants,” explained then in the city council of Nikolaev.
According to the website of the city council, currently 20 vehicles of “Nikolaevpastrans” work on the routes of Nikolaev.
Recently, the city received from the German company three buses “accordion” Mercedes Citaro passenger capacity of up to 150 people.
The state’s debt for value added tax (VAT) reimbursement to grain trader Prometey for part of last year and this year reaches hundreds of millions of hryvnias, with its reimbursement now being spotty and according to non-transparent criteria, Rafael Goroyan, owner of the grain trading holding Prometey, said.
“The state owes Prometey a big VAT refund for more than a year, since before the war. We are patiently waiting for the VAT refund, but our patience may come to an end. Now it is reimbursed in a pinpoint manner, according to unclear criteria, as in the times of Yanukovych (ex-President of Ukraine – IF), when the tax was “discounted,” suitcases were carried, etc. But Prometey Company has its own principles. We never gave any bribes for VAT refunds because it deprived us of competitiveness,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
“They (tax authorities – IF) want to “negotiate” and we always quarrel – we do not want to “be friends and communicate” with anyone. We do not create an ‘intimate environment,’ so we have conflict all the time,” the head of Prometey stressed in an interview.
“Our principles are much more important than money. Thank God, Prometey is developing, employees’ salaries are being paid, but if we get dirty in the mud of corruption, we won’t be able to wash off,” he added.
According to him, an effective way of dealing with government agencies is to ask for help from the media and hold actions with the participation of Prometey employees and their families.
“If we had to say something loudly, we held large pickets near the tax inspection. When Poroshenko (ex-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko – IF) was in power, 3500 people from Prometey employees and their family members used to picket when Nasirov (former head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine Roman Nasirov – IF) was the chief tax collector. It was a whole revolution. In my opinion, a month after that he was kicked out and now he seems to be under investigation,” stressed the owner of the holding.
“When the average business gets angry en masse, everything ends badly. We shouldn’t see the situation when VAT is reimbursed to someone point by point, for some unknown good,” Goroyan concluded.
The grain trader stressed that the issue of actual VAT refund is not just a positive thing for the Ukrainian AIC companies but a necessary condition for their survival in the market.
As reported, the head of the specialized parliamentary committee of the Rada Daniil Getmantsev earlier said that the volume of VAT refund to business in November increased by 20% compared to October and amounted to 13.6 billion UAH, this year such volumes were achieved only in February.
VAT refunds were almost completely stopped after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on February 24 this year. If it was 18.52 billion UAH in January and 12.07 billion UAH in February, in March – 0.82 billion UAH, and in April and May it was completely absent and resumed only in June, when 9.5 billion UAH were paid, in July it almost stopped again – 0.6 million UAH. However, in August the amount of payments was 9,4 billion UAH, in September – 1,6 billion UAH and in October – 10,9 billion UAH.
Prometey Group provides services in the storage, processing and logistics of crops. Before the Russian aggression the holding owned 33 elevators in the regions of Nikolaev, Kirovograd, Kiev, Khmelnytsky, Zaporozhye, Sumy, Odessa, Kherson and Dnepropetrovsk, during the war the holding purchased one more.
By the end of 2021, the group planned to receive $45 million EBITDA, while in 2020 this figure reached $32.6 million and in 2019 – $30.5 million.
Ukrzaliznytsia JSC is resuming the Kiev-Mykolaiv passenger service on Tuesday and expects to resume passenger service to Kherson within 10 days after completing a track inspection and repair of damaged infrastructure, Infrastructure Minister Alexander Kubrakov said.
“Now that the Ukrainian military has pushed back the front line, we are launching a direct rail connection Kiev-Mykolaiv. The first train will leave already tonight,” Kubrakov wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.
He added that as of today, road companies have started clearing roads so that humanitarian aid, rescuers, messengers and mail could reach people as soon as possible.
Kubrakov noted that the enemy blew up 14 bridges while fleeing the territory of Kherson.
“The road services are coordinating with the military, and as soon as the security situation allows – we will dismantle the structures of the bridges,” wrote the minister.
In January 2022, the Mykolaiv Sea Port increased cargo transshipment by 60.8% compared to January 2021, to 3.2 million tonnes.
As reported on the page of the Authority of the Mykolaiv seaport on Facebook, in general, in January there was a positive trend in the transshipment: 1.53 million tonnes of grain, 333,200 tonnes of vegetable oil, 564,500 tonnes of ore, 182,100 tonnes of ferrous metals and 108,600 tonnes of cast iron.
In addition, in January, the Mykolaiv sea port significantly increased the transshipment of export cargo to 2.41 million tonnes, import cargo to 640,700 tonnes, coastal cargo to 120,600 tonnes.
Since the beginning of the year, the port has handled 191 ships and 11,855 wagons.
As reported, the Mykolaiv Sea Port in 2021 reduced cargo transshipment by 0.9% by 2020, to 29.869 million tonnes.
Turkish Airlines will start flying from Mykolaiv to Istanbul from September 23, 2021, Director of the Mykolaiv international airport Fedir Barna said on his Facebook page.
“After lengthy negotiations with one of the world’s largest airlines, Turkish Airlines, I am pleased to announce the opening of a long-awaited regular flight to Istanbul from Mykolaiv airport,” he wrote.
Barna said that flights to Istanbul will be operated five times a week, and tickets are already available on the airline’s official website.
At the same time, there is no destination the Mykolaiv airport on the Turkish Airlines website.
