Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv), part of Ukroboronprom state concern, is expected by the end of the year to receive a firm order from the Interior Ministry for the production of 13 new transport An-178 aircraft with a lifting capacity of 18 tonnes for the State Emergencies Service and the National Guard of Ukraine.
According to the press service of the state concern, within a preliminary agreement of the parties announced by Interior Minister Arsen Avakov at the 53rd international aerospace show Le Bourget 2019 (France), the signing of a contract to build 13 new An-178s for the ministry agencies is scheduled for autumn.
According to President of Antonov State Enterprise Oleksandr Donets, in the near future the enterprise plans to complete the design and certification of new An-178 airplanes, which is expected to be equipped with Ukrainian, American and European equipment. The transfer of the first aircraft to the customer is preliminarily scheduled for 2021-2022.
Head of Ukroboronprom Pavlo Bukin noted the production of aircraft for the domestic customer is considered to be the key condition for the resumption of serial production of aircraft in Ukraine.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has been permitted to transport dangerous goods of six categories from the Chinese aviation authority, the airline has said.
The license gives UIA the right to transport to/from China consumer goods, which are specified as “Dangerous Goods.” These are smartphones, computers, tablets, photo cameras and other electronical items of well-known world brands, which are produced in China.
“It took us over three years for receiving the license, during this time the company was subject to numerous thorough checks by the Chinese Aviation Authority. As a rule, China checks the reliability of the carriers who are going to transport the goods specified as “Dangerous Goods” very scrupulously. Now all the formalities are finalized, UIA has new opportunities for organizing the transportation of consumer goods on non-stop flights Kyiv – Beijing – Kyiv by wide-body long-haul Boeing-777 aircraft,” Peter Kukharchuk, UIA Logistics and Cargo Director, said.
He said that UIA was among the first ones to receive a license for transportation of several categories of dangerous goods, gives us significant competitive advantages.
UIA received a license for transportation of dangerous goods of categories 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 from China.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, has signed a loan agreement on providing financing in the amount of EUR 12.5 million to buy 64 large buses, the press service of the Finance Ministry has reported.
According to the press release, the funds are also sent to the reconstruction of the city bus depot, the renovation of repair equipment and the development of the city’s transport infrastructure management. The project will increase the capacity of public transport in the city and reduce hydrocarbon emissions into the atmosphere.
“Since 2014, decentralization is one of the key priorities of the government, and we have already transferred many financial resources to municipalities, and with them responsibility. Therefore, it is extremely important for us that international partners support this approach with financial resources. IFC investments in Mariupol infrastructure, 30 km from the front line is the best proof of our partners’ confidence in Ukraine. We hope that the financing of municipalities will become one of the important activities of the IFC in the future. We would be very grateful if IFC could become the first IFI [international financial institution] that provides such funding in hryvnia, and the Ministry of Finance is ready to support this idea,” the press service of the ministry reported, citing Deputy Minister for European Integration Yuriy Heletei.
As reported, referring to IFC, the loan will amount to 14% of the city’s projected multi-sectoral capital investment program of $90 million in 2019-2010.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is a large international investor focused on the private sector in Ukraine. The total amount of its investment in long-term projects in various economic sectors of Ukraine has reached over $3.2 billion.
Ukrainian airlines, according to live data from the State Aviation Service, transported 2.1 million passengers in January-March 2018, which is 12.7% more than in the same period in 2017. According to a report on the agency’s website, international traffic grew by 12.5%, to 1.885 million people.
Passenger flows through the airports of Ukraine increased by 21.8% and amounted to 3.625 million people, in particular international traffic rose by 23% and amounted to 3.16 million passengers.
During January-March 2017 Ukrainian airlines serviced 19,300 commercial flights (3.2% up year-over-year), including 15,900 international flights (1.3% up).
