As part of a stress scenario in the event of escalation of hostilities, the pharmaceutical company Interchem (Odessa) is increasing stocks of raw materials and forming additional reserves of finished products for a number of items, Director General of Interchem Anatoliy Reder has said.
“We have revised the calculation criteria and approaches to the formation of stocks of raw materials and products. For the most vulnerable stock items, we are taking all necessary measures to increase them, including allocating additional working capital for a prompt response to force majeure situations,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.
Raeder noted that recently there have been interruptions in the supply of raw materials and consumables. To a greater extent, they concerned imported products delivered by sea. However, at the same time, the top manager notes that this is a common problem for the entire pharmaceutical industry and for the Ukrainian business in general, which largely depends on external raw materials.
“I can’t say whether they are caused to a greater extent by the current political situation, or in general by global logistical problems, but today the arrival of a container with raw materials, which we expected to receive on February 15, has been postponed to February 23. I really hope that all the raw materials will arrive, as the passage of sea vessels has been resumed,” he said.
In addition, the Interchem CEO said that the company was also concerned about possible complications with the supply of raw materials, which were carried out by air freight transportation. For example, if insurance companies for cargo flights take measures similar to those they have taken in relation to passenger air travel.
“It is important for us that all directions and types of transport logistics function, since Interchem receives raw materials for production both by land, by air, and by sea,” he said.
Commenting on the issue of possible changes in the range of products, Reder noted that the company had already formed a production program and production volumes of a particular commodity item, taking into account its possible increased demand in the event of escalation of hostilities.
“We have several items that belong to the state reserve range, and for these items we have ensured the necessary stocks. They are maintained in sufficient quantities and do not depend on the needs of the open market, we will be able to immediately ship them as soon as necessary. This required additional effort and expense, but it had to be done,” he said.
In order to prevent “any kind of failure” in the production process, the company has optimized the work schedule: production has moved to a six-day work week with three shifts on weekdays. In addition, as part of the development of the stress scenario, Interchem revised a program of foreign business trips, developed an emergency plan for evacuation of employees and conservation of production, and also carries out complex equipment of a bomb shelter in one of the largest residential areas of Odessa on its own, Reder specified.
“I really hope that with such thoughtful actions we will be able to avoid a shortage of raw materials and ensure uninterrupted supply of products. After all, the main task of the company today is to mobilize as much as possible in order to ensure the stable operation of production and uninterrupted shipment of products. People should not have a reason to panic due to a shortage of essential goods, and especially medicines,” the CEO says.
Interchem is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country. The company is a supplier of medicines for the programs of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Interchem is a member of the Association of Manufacturers of Medications of Ukraine.
The hotel operator Ribas Hotels Group (Odesa) is launching a franchise program for the development of a chain of apart-hotels by Ribas in partnership with developers.
“As part of the partnership, the Ribas Hotels chain transfers all its technical standards and design projects to development companies, accompanies their design and construction departments and strengthens the marketing and sales department,” Ribas Hotels Group told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the terms of the partnership, after commissioning, the hotel is transferred to the management of the Ribas Hotels Group. The sale of apartments is carried out during the construction of the object. The profitability from operating activities of hotels is estimated at 8-20% per annum.
According to the operator, the first apart-hotel of the WOL sub-brand, which will be further sold under a franchise, will open at 121 Fontanska Road Street in Odesa in February 2022.
According to Ribas, in 2022 the chain will be replenished with two more apart-hotels in Odesa and Lviv. At the same time, the company has not yet disclosed developer partners in these projects.
“Taking into account the market demand, the hotel operator plans to create only ten investment projects of apart-hotels in different regions of Ukraine,” Ribas Hotels Group said.
Ribas Hotels Group cooperates (management, franchising and booking) with 25 objects of the hotel and restaurant complex (city, beach and ski hotels). The company’s portfolio includes the business hotels Wall Street by Ribas and Bossfor by Ribas (Odesa), the ski hotel Ribas Karpaty (Bukovel, Ivano-Frankivsk region), the beach complex Richard by Ribas (Hrybovka, Odesa region). Hotels in Lviv, Kyiv, Odesa, and also in Poland are currently at the design and construction stage.
The total number of rooms in the network exceeds 1,000 in various forms of cooperation in eight cities and resort locations of Ukraine.
Ribas Hotels Group LLC was established in 2017. According to the data of the unified state register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, Artur Lupashko is the head and owner of a 100% share in the charter capital of the company.
Hilton has entered into a franchise agreement with Gefest Group (the real estate developer, Odessa) on the implementation of a hotel project in Odessa, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2025. According to a press release of Hilton, the hotel near the Arcadia entertainment area will be managed by Cyprus-based Millennium Hospitality. The new hotel will become part of the Hilton Hotels & Resorts chain.“There is clear opportunity for growth in Ukraine, with two hotels set to join our portfolio alongside Hilton Kyiv. Growing international interest in Odessa and robust domestic demand make Hilton Odessa an important addition to our European pipeline. We are pleased to be working with Gefest Group to introduce our flagship brand to southern Ukraine,” Senior Vice President for Development at Hilton Europe, the Middle East and Africa Patrick Fitzgibbon was quoted in the report. According to the report, the project provides for the construction of two buildings in Vanny and Primorsky lanes in Odesa. The hotel will have 145 rooms. The hotel infrastructure will include two swimming pools, one of which is panoramic, four restaurants and bars, a conference center (800 square meters), a banquet hall (300 square meters), a rooftop lounge area, and a spa center (600 square meters). Gefest Group was founded in Odessa in 1997. The company’s portfolio includes more than 40 office, retail and residential real estate projects in Ukraine and Europe at different stages of implementation.
Qatar Airways, the national airline of Qatar, will launch flights from Doha to Odessa on December 9, which has become the second in Ukraine after Boryspil, where Qatari airlines will start operating.
According to the Odessa international airport’s Facebook page, the flights will be operated three times a week, namely on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Departure from Doha to Odessa is scheduled for 08.30, arrival will be at 12.45. Departure from Odessa will be at 16.45, arrival in Doha at 22.50.
More than 3 million tourists visited Odesa in 2021, Mayor of the city Hennadiy Trukhanov has said.
“Today, we are entering the pre-COVID period and have the following data: more than 3 million tourists visited Odesa this year,” he said at a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine on Thursday in Kyiv.
According to him, the growth of the indicator was influenced by the launch of the airfield complex, as well as the creation of a pedestrian zone in the center of Odesa.
“We are implementing the project and have created a pedestrian center, which is the largest in Ukraine – more than 6 km, 10 streets, squares, parks. There are 170 architectural monuments in the pedestrian center zone, of which 31 are monuments of national importance,” Trukhanov said.
At the same time, the mayor asked for state support in the renovation of the Odesa park Yuvileiny.
Odesa 5T is a business event arranged in the South of Ukraine, an international platform for interaction, networking, cooperation, dialogue and discussions between the governmental agencies, municipalities, the international community, diplomatic missions, organizations, foundations, business circles and experts.
Odesa 5T features projects in five key directions of the city development: tourism, transport, technology, trade, trust.
For the sixth year in a row, Odesa 5T will serve as a platform for business and start-up presentations, a perfect spot to meet new partners, investors, business angels, a platform showcasing Odessa’s capacities, the business community of this city, Ukraine and the whole world.
This year the event has reached a new level: there will be a joint presentation of the investment potential of Odessa and the Odessa region.
The Forum will focus mainly on the Odessa Development Strategy 2030, a new large-scale project to create an eco-industrial park “Priority Development Zone in Odessa”, trends in the regional investment market, government support for domestic and foreign investors.
The business vision “Odessa Region – 2050” initiated by the Odessa Business Club will be presented to the participants.
The event will be attended by the leading Ukrainian and international speakers.
On the first day of the event, September 16, the pannelists will discuss the following:
Speakers:
Sergey Grinevetsky, Head of the Odessa Regional State Administration
Dmitrii Sinichenko, Chairman of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, representative of the EBRD
Moderator: Sergey Tetiukhin, Deputy Mayor of Odessa
Speakers:
Anatolii Dolinnii, Ukrainian Business Council
Maksim Svirsky, Manager of the Executive Committee under the City Council
Anna Derevianko, EBA
Artem Stepanchuk, TM UFT
Speakers:
Roman Babitskii, Chairman of the Council for the International Investment and Economic Development of Ukraine
Eymantas Kludoulas, Klaipedos FEZ
Yuri Filyuk, “Prompribor”
Vitali Barannikov, Ecopolis KhTZ
Svetlana Yarovaya, Vinnytsia Municipal Innovation Center, Vinnytsia Industrial Park
Alongside, several memorandums will be signed.
On the first day, the Made in Odesa & Invest in Odesa exposition will be open for public on the territory of the concert hall, where entrepreneurs and representatives of the municipality will showcase the products, services and projects made in Odessa.
At the end of the first day there will be the traditional evening 5T Awards ceremony, which will recognize projects and companies that have achieved success in the five key areas of Odesa 5T and contributed to the development of the city in 2020.
On the second day, September 17, the leading speakers and fundraisers from Europe, as well as the well-known urbanists and architects from Ukraine will take the stage.
A workshop with the designer and chief urbanist of Eindhoven, Cees Donkers (Netherlands) is a must-be event.
Daria Pikalova, fundraiser of the Odessa 5T grant office, will present the results of the grant project Digital Cultural Routes: A Tool for the Development of the Cultural Sector, a mobile application called Let’s Odesa.
Note: We took all the possible preventive measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 as per the official requirements.
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