The Ecolines international bus service, which includes the Ukrainian Autolux service, will resume trips from Kyiv to Warsaw and Szczecin (Poland) starting from June 18.
As the company’s press service told Interfax-Ukraine, the company will gradually resume trips on other international routes.
Moreover, the company said that Autolux has already resumed regular bus service from Kyiv to Odesa, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Poltava, Kherson and Kropyvnytsky.
“There is a demand for routes in the western direction, but so far we cannot start trips to Lviv due to the epidemiological situation in the region,” the company said.
Mining enterprises of Ukraine in January-May 2020 increased the export of iron ore raw materials in natural units by 11.9% compared to the same period of 2019, to 18.875 million tonnes.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service, foreign exchange earnings from iron ore raw materials exports increased by 5.7%, to $1.51 billion over that period.
Iron ore raw materials were exported mainly to China (58.06% of supplies in monetary terms), Poland (10.07%) and the Czech Republic (6.87%).
Iron ore raw materials imported to Ukraine from the Netherlands to Ukraine amounted to $28,000, from Sweden, to some $10,000, from Germany to some $1,000 and from Hungary to some $1,000 in a total volume of 84 tonnes over two months of 2020, while 45 tonnes of iron ore with cost of $24,000 were imported in January-May 2019.
Four companies filed documents to participate in the tender for the construction of a waste recycling complex in Lviv, Mayor of the city Andriy Sadovy has written on his Facebook page. “Lviv-based municipal enterprise Zelene Misto Green City received technical proposals from four participants (due to pandemic the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved that this may be online),” the mayor of Lviv said.
According to him, the documents were submitted by the following companies: Eggersmann Anlagenbau GmbH (Germany), Control Process S.A. (Poland), consortium of two companies WTT (Netherlands) and Axis (Lithuania), consortium of two companies MUT (Austria) and Dogusan (Turkey).
“Each of these companies has implemented at least four similar projects. Such experience is a guarantee of quality for us. The plant must be environmentally safe, this is the main criterion when choosing a contractor,” Sadovy said.
According to the mayor of Lviv, preparatory work is currently underway on the site allocated for the construction of the plant.
According to the City Council, the design capacity of the plant should be 240,000 tonnes of waste per year when working on a double-shift basis.
AUSTRIA, COMPANIES, GERMANY, NETHERLANDS, PLANT CONSTRUCTION, POLAND, RECYCLING, TURKEY
Ukraine through the gas measuring station Drozdovychi has begun virtual reverse of natural gas from Poland, expects its launch from Slovakia and Hungary, Head of Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine LLC (GTSOU) Serhiy Makogon has reported. “Gas supplies from Poland have already begun by substitution (virtual reverse) through the Drozdovychi station,” he said on Facebook.
To date, the volume of virtual imports from Poland is 5.5 million cubic meters. Since now transit to this country is 9.1 million cubic meters, 3.6 million cubic meters will be physically delivered to Poland, the head of the GTSOU said.
Makogon recalled that earlier, according to the previous transit contract with the Russian Federation, virtual reverse operations were not available to Ukraine: all volumes of gas had to be physically exported to Poland through Drozdovychi, and the volume necessary for Ukraine, in turn, was returned back through Hermanowice. Currently, there are no such restrictions; the country can import the entire amount of gas that physically goes there from Poland through virtual reverse supplies.
“Import from Poland also includes import of gas from the Polish LNG terminal. That is, right now, Ukraine can commercially import up to 9 million cubic meters per day or 3.3 billion cubic meters of gas from the Polish terminal via virtual reverse. I repeat: physically, the Ukrainian gas transmission system is ready to accept up to 6.6 billion cubic meters per year from Poland, but so far Poland, until the completion of a number of works in its gas transmission system, can only physically supply about 2 billion cubic meters,” the head of the gas transmission operator said.
“We expect that in the near future virtual reverse supplies will be launched in Slovakia and Hungary. The operators of these countries are working on this task. For our par, we are ready,” Makogon said.
Virtual reverses supplies involve the exchange of natural gas between gas transmission system operators when the gas does not physically move across the border and the parties offset.
Ukraine boosted its electricity exports by 4.9% in 2019, to 6.469 billion kWh, the Ministry of Energy and Environment Protection has told. Electricity supplies from the Burshtyn TPP energy island to Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania rose by 17.1%, to 4.448 billion kWh.
Exports to Poland fell 2.4%, to 1.377 billion kWh.
Exports to Moldova fell 32.6%, to 644 million kWh.
In July, Ukraine resumed commercial imports of electricity. The year’s total was 2.699 billion kWh, including 909.8 million kWh from Slovakia, 851.3 million kWh from Belarus, 630.1 million kWh from Hungary, 286.3 million kWh from Russia, and 21.1 million kWh from Romania.
Due to crossflows related to the parallel work of the united energy system in Ukraine and systems in bordering countries (accounted for under contracts signed by Energomarket), Ukraine imported 41.6 million kWh of energy from Russia and 1 million kWh from Belarus in 2019.
BUYERS, ELECTRICITY, HUNGARY, MOLDOVA, POLAND, ROMANIA, SLOVAKIA
Ribas Hotels Group LLC (Odesa), the managing company of the national network of three- and four-star tourist hotel and restaurant complexes, has signed an agreement to manage the Bautzen hotel in Jelenia Gora (Poland). “The management company of Ribas Hotels Group has developed a concept and corporate style for the hospitality facility in the Polish city of Jelenia Gora and signed a management agreement. The opening is scheduled for spring 2021,” the company told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Ribas Hotels Group, after the launch, the three-star hotel will include 23 rooms. The object will be the first one in the operator’s portfolio outside Ukraine.
The company noted that in order to increase the profitability of the facility, it was decided to reduce staff costs by creating a contactless reception desk, introducing the position of a curator of the facility, which helps conduct check-in if necessary.
“Most guests check in on their own, through the terminal, a lock system that will be installed on the doors. A specialist from the hotel will be 24/7 online chatting and communicating with guests, as well as advising guests who did not use to this service format,” the company said.
In addition, Ribas Hotels Group decided to abandon the traditional list of additional services that are not in demand. In particular, in Bautzen there will be no minibars, they will be replaced by vending machines with snacks and various prepared meals in the common areas of the hotel.
According to estimates by Ribas Hotels Group, the planned estimated return on investment in the opening of Bautzen is 5-7% per annum.
