Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak discussed with diplomats the implementation of Ukraine’s Peace Formula, the press service of the Office of the President has said.
More than 70 representatives of foreign states took part on the seventh meeting on the issue dedicated to the Food Security item of the formula that took place in the territory of a bread company in Kyiv region. The enterprise was hit by one of Russia’s missile attacks last year.
Yermak said that in Africa alone 32 countries depend on Ukrainian grain export. He thanked the partners for ensuring the operation of the grain corridor in the Black Sea and for their support for the Grain from Ukraine humanitarian initiative proposed by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which is aimed at delivering grain to the most vulnerable African countries.
“We understand how important it is to help people on other countries that also suffer from the war and the same aggressor as the citizens of Ukraine,” Yermak said.
He thanked the foreign diplomats for their active involvement in the working groups on each of the items of the Peace Formula. Yermak recalled that the working groups are preparing the framework documents on each item of the formula that will contain detailed steps for the restoration of fair and sustainable peace in Ukraine and will be universal for any country.
According to Yermak, joint developments of the working groups will be used as a basis for the upcoming third meeting at the level of national security advisors. The decisions developed during these consultations will be submitted for consideration to the heads of states and governments at the Global Peace Summit.
Specialists of the bridge-building division of the Avtostrada group of companies continue erecting the left-bank interchange of the Darnytsky Bridge in Kyiv; currently, work is being carried out simultaneously on all the main structures of the exit ramps – pillars and sheet-pile bulkheads are being installed, concrete work is also underway, metal structures are being manufactured, and bored piles are being installed.
The press service of the group reported on Tuesday, in particular, at object No. 8L towards Bazhana Avenue, which length will be 140 meters, 18 units of the sheet-pile bulkhead have already been installed, each weighing 14-15 tonnes. Grouting concrete is being poured into them. A truck crane with a lifting capacity of 100 tonnes was used to carry out these works. The 9th grillage of the sheet-pile bulkhead is being concreted, sheet pile wall is being installed along the embankment.
Work to install bored piles, concreting of grillages, as well as installation and concreting of backwall units continues at object No. 9L.
Avtostrada specialists are installing grillages, pillar bodies, ledgers, as well as bored piles with a diameter of 1.5 meters at objects No. 3L and No. 4L.
Two modern powerful drilling rigs Bauer BG 45 and Bauer BG 36 are involved in the installation of bored piles at the site. In total, more than 50 units of specialized equipment are involved, 110 specialists from the Avtostrada bridge-building division are working on the bridge.
The project provides for the construction of two ramps to the Dnipro River embankment (towards Bazhana Avenue and towards the Paton Bridge) and a bridge entrance ramp (from the side of Bazhana Avenue).
As reported, early October 2021, regional branch Pivdenno-Zakhidna Railway of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia signed a contract for UAH 1.15 billion with Avtostrada to carry out construction work on the railway-road bridge across the Dnipro River in Kyiv.
The Avtostrada group is one of the leaders in the road construction industry and is part of the MS Capital holding. It carries out major repairs and builds roads and bridges. It has more than 2,500 units of specialized equipment and 5,500 full-time employees.
Declared rental rates in Kyiv decreased for premises in business centers of all classes by 7-8%.
As the press service of CBRE Ukraine told Interfax-Ukraine with reference to the carried out research, the declared rental rates vary in class A objects in the range of $23-28/square meter/month, and in B class objects – $13-23/square meter/month.
The effective rental rate for prime properties since the beginning of the year has remained stable at $25/square meter/month, as the demand for new high-quality rental space remained high.
According to CBRE Ukraine, the average vacancy rate in the office market has slightly increased since the beginning of the year to 14.4% (up by 0.4 p.p.). The vacancy is expected to be relatively well-distributed in the office real estate market. This is a good sign that rental rates will generally not change over the medium term.
The average price of apartments in the primary housing market of Kyiv may grow by 15-20% and reach $1,300 per square meter already in 2021, and by the end of 2023 it may reach $2,000 per square meter, Director General of Kovalska Group Serhiy Pylypenko has said.
“The trend continues, and this year we expect housing prices to rise no lower than last year by 15-20%. This is the minimum level of increase. The market is very active, not overheated, demand is stable. Amid rising prices for construction materials, inflationary processes, lower interest rates, affordable mortgages and other factors, we expect a rise in prices. My expectations: already this year, the average price in Kyiv may reach $1,300 per square meter, and by the end of 2023 – already $2,000 per square meter,” Pylypenko said during the discussion panel “Post-Quarantine Development” hosted by the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine in Kyiv on Wednesday.
According to him, the growing shortage of high-quality land sites for construction in the Ukrainian capital also influences the rise in housing prices.
“The old General Plan has lost its relevance, the new one has not yet been adopted, so in the next one or two years it will not be easy to find a site which is intended for residential construction, and this will create a certain shortage of sites for future development, which will also influence the rise in prices,” he said.
In addition, the expert predicts an increase in prices for construction materials on average within 15-20% during the year. According to him, this trend forces developers to take this into account at different phases of the construction.
“All developers have experienced an increase in the cost of basic construction materials, in particular metal, which has grown by 30-40%, and other materials are also growing in price. This year, I expect that the prices for basic construction materials and construction costs may rise by 15-20%. This should to be taken into account in pricing,” he said.
According to the forecast of Pylypenko, the rise in housing prices will lead to an enlargement of the development market and displace unreliable developers.
Kovalska industrial and construction group has been operating in the construction market of Ukraine since 1956. It is a leading manufacturer of construction materials, developer and builder of the country.
UK-based IWG Plc, a flexible office solutions provider, is expanding its network in Ukraine and opening a new Regus workspace in Kyiv.
According to a press release from the company, the new workspace of nearly 1,700 square meters will be located in the business center Avenue 53 in Peremohy Avenue, and will be designed for 295 jobs.
“We have been looking for a location in Peremohy Avenue for a long time, because there was a request from our residents who travel to the center of the capital every day from Akademmistechko or Irpin and spend more than an hour in traffic jams, because time is the most valuable thing for each of us. Therefore, expanding our network in Kyiv, we opted for Avenue 53,” Director of IWG in Ukraine Yulia Lytvynenko said.
Despite the slump during the quarantine period, she said the IWG expects demand for flexible office solutions without fixed jobs to grow.
“Now, due to the high level of uncertainty, a classic office with a long-term lease is associated with great risks. While flexible offices allow companies to increase or decrease the number of employees without financial losses and pay only for the area they use,” she said.
IWG (formerly Regus Group) is the global operator of leading office rental companies. The first Regus office center in Ukraine is Horizon Tower in Shelkovichna Street was opened in 1998. In total in Ukraine as of July 2020 IWG is represented by two brands Regus and Spaces in ten business centers in Kyiv: Maidan Plaza Spaces, Horizon Tower, Kyiv Podil, Gulliver, Horizon Park Business Center, Podil Heritage, IQ center, Silver Breeze, Forum West Side, and Avenue 53.
Vagif Aliyev, the founder of PrJSC Mandarin Plaza, the investor and developer of Kyiv-based Lavina shopping center, on November 20 launched the first stage of the Blokbuster Mall shopping and entertainment center in Bandery Avenue in Kyiv, investing $400 million in construction. According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, only a Silpo supermarket has started working in the facility. The rest of the stores will be launched on a fan-based basis as they are ready, the founder of Nai Ukraine, the project broker, Vitaliy Boiko, said.
According to him, the cost of investments in the construction of the Blokbuster Mall shopping center was $400 million. The total area of the first stage is 200,000 square meters, the leased area is 110,000 square meters. After the launch of the second phase, which is at an early stage of construction, the total area will be 300,000 square meters, the rental area some 200,000 square meters. The facility is located on a plot of 30 hectares.
“Vagif Aliyev’s pipeline now contains projects for EUR2.9 billion (12 projects of shopping and entertainment centers). This is the second largest indicator in the world in terms of development of retail real estate. Westfield is the first developer in the world with EUR8 billion, and the third one is one of the largest European investors with EUR2.5 billion. The uniqueness is also that all Mandarin Plaza projects are located in one city – Kyiv,” Boiko said at a briefing.
