The UFuture Investment Group of businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky, which portfolio includes UNIT.City innovation park in Kyiv, plans to launch the first phase of LvivTech.City at the end of 2019, the founder of UFuture Investment Group Vasyl Khmelnytsky has said in a blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine. “We are planning to open LvivTech.City Innovation Park at the end of 2019… We can say that the first Lviv campus will combine office and commercial sections (cafes and restaurants). The office space will be 9,500 square meters, commercial – 3,000 square meters. It will also be built according to the standards of “green” construction,” Khmelnytsky said.
According to him, the company has not yet attracted partners and loan financing for this project and it is building the space at its own expense. “The park has residents, but we do not sign the contracts until we reach the final stage of construction,” the businessman said.
In addition, the company intends to open an educational space in Kharkiv this year. “This year we will launch an institute and a co-working space in Kharkiv. There is already a modern building with an area of 12,000 square meters, in which they will occupy about a quarter… This is the initial stage. The park will expand with the growth of the market,” Khmelnytsky said.
As reported, LvivTech.City will be located on a land parcel of 1.77 ha on the territory of the industrial zone of former Lvivprylad plant. The project would allow creating new jobs and open the territory of the closed enterprise for society.
It is planned that the gross area of the office sector of the LvivTech.City will be over 40,000 square meters. The park would have parking zones, green zone and territories for recreation. In addition, the project will be implemented meeting the LEED green building standards. The completion of the first stage of the LvivTech.City earlier was scheduled for H2 2018.
UFuture and Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute will build and open in Kharkiv the Innovations Campus educational space worth more than UAH 60 million. Earlier it was planned that the campus will start operating at the end of 2018. The training will be based on an innovative educational program, which was developed by UNIT Factory specialists in cooperation with Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute and other Ukrainian higher educational establishments.
In addition, the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship School will continue its work at the campus, whereas modern co-working will open the possibility for start-ups and creative young professionals to get jobs, qualified professional business support, security, access to knowledge.
The organizers also plan to attract investments from the state, enterprises and local business to finance this social and educational project.
UFuture Investment Group, headquartered in Brussels, was established in autumn 2017 and united the business projects of Khmelnytsky. The group includes the Ukrainian development company UDP, whose specialization is the implementation of large infrastructure projects. In addition, the conglomerate united businesses in such areas as UDP Renewables, the Bila Tserkva industrial park, the innovation parks UNIT.City, and LvivTech.City.
UDP Renewables, responsible for development of projects in the renewable energy sphere of the UFuture Group of businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky, plans to implement two projects in the wind energy sphere and retains plans to build solar power plants with a total power capacity of 200 MW. “We are considering two projects that we will implement in the wind energy sector. In the future, I will tell you more specifically when we start building,” Khmelnytsky said in a blitz interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
In addition, according to him, the company maintains plans to build energy projects with a total capacity of 200 MW in Ukraine for 2018-2019, but further plans for the development of these projects will depend on the feed-in tariff.
“We do not change the plan now. We want to build 200 MW. Today we are building 100 MW. That is, we are continuing as planned: we are building five projects in Odesa, Zaporizhia, Kherson and other regions,” the businessman said.
Partners in these projects, in addition to Spain’s Acciona Energia Global, are Slovak and Ukrainian companies.
Earlier UDP Renewables announced its plans to implement energy projects with a capacity of 200 MW in southern regions of Ukraine in 2018-2019. There are two launched solar power plants: Dymerska Solar Power Plant 1 in Kyiv region with a capacity of 6 MW and Free-Energy-Henichesk solar power plant with a capacity of 18.3 MW in Kherson region.
UFuture Investment Group, headquartered in Brussels, was established in autumn 2017 and united the business projects of Khmelnytsky. The group includes the Ukrainian development company UDP, whose specialization is the implementation of large infrastructure projects. In addition, the conglomerate united businesses in such areas as UDP Renewables, the Bila Tserkva industrial park, the innovation parks UNIT.City, and LvivTech.City.
UDP of businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky in partnership with KAN Development on Wednesday took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the third campus – a new six-story B12 business center with a gross area of 16,900 square meters – in the UNIT.City innovation park (Kyiv). “We have already invested $50 million [in the construction of UNIT.City] and in the next year and a half we want to invest the same amount… It will be a mini-city: a school, a kindergarten, many offices and innovative companies, R & D centers, institutions, co-working space, laboratories,” Khmelnytsky, who is the founder of the UFuture investment group, said at a press briefing on Thursday.
According to UNIT.City Managing Partner Maxim Bakhmatov, thanks to the launch of the new campus, the total area of the business part of the park has doubled and now amounts to almost 30,000 square meters. In particular, the total area of the facility is 16,900 square meters, and the lettable area is 12,000 square meters. From the point of view of the residents of the new business center, the focus was made on large corporations – the lion’s share of the facility was leased to Metinvest Digital and the DTEK Academy. In general, about 1,000 people will work in the campus. The facility infrastructure also includes the UNIT.Verse conference space on the ground floor designed for 400 people for hosting big events.
According to the founder of KAN Development, Ihor Nikonov, the campus was built in accordance with the U.S. LEED green building rating system. The completion of the certification procedure is expected to be in 2019. In general, it is planned that 300,000 square meters of commercial space will be built in the innovation park, which will be two thirds of the total area of UNIT.City. According to him, in a month KAN Development will start building a residential part of UNIT.City.
“In 2019, we will build two more new campuses – a seven-story building and a six-story building. Thus, we will do this year 9% of what we plan as a whole,” CEO and Managing Partner of UNIT.City Max Yakover said.
In addition, according to him, in the summer it is planned to open the central square of the city – Event Plaza, which will become the geographical and event center of the innovation park.
“This will be the central square of the park – an ancient Greek forum with an area of 5,000 square meters. It will allow us to accept urban formats. These could be exhibitions, fairs, concerts,” Yakover added.
UDP and KAN Development are co-investors and co-developers of the new campus of UNIT.City.
UNIT.City Innovation Park officially opened in April 2017 on the territory of the former Kyiv Motorcycle Plant. On its territory there are co-working space Chasopys-UNIT, the IT-school UNIT Factory, three laboratories, a business campus, a foundation and five accelerators.
The UFuture Group of businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky plans to attract around $150 million of investment in the Bila Tserkva 2 industrial park registered by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry last week, creating a food industry cluster on its territory, Director of Bila Tserkva industrial park Volodymyr Khmurych has said. “But this [the amount of investment] is no more than forecasts. It is difficult to predict which customer will enter,” he told the Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on the need to create a second industrial park in the territory of the Shakrivka Village Council of Bila Tserkva district, where in April 2018 the first Bila Tserkva industrial park of the UFuture group was registered.
According to Khmurych, the decision to create a second park was dictated by the interest of food industry companies.
“We see the intentions of food processing companies. Today, two memorandums have already been signed, and we want to place these clients separately in the food cluster, taking into account the fact that they have special requirements for the sanitary zone and environmental requirements. And since we have a vacant land parcel, we have decided create a new industrial park on it,” he said.
As reported, the first Bila Tserkva industrial park in the territory of the Shakrivka Village Council was registered by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry in April 2018, the construction of the first plant for the production of Plank Electrotechnic electrical installation systems is currently being completed on its territory.
Khmurych said that if the main focus of the second park is the food industry, then the first one will be focused on other industries.
“Of course, if some customers of the food industry will meet the conditions of the first park, we will not deny them, but we will offer the second one first of all,” he said.
He also said that in the first Bila Tserkva park, in addition to completing the construction of Plank Electrotechnic, the signing of an agreement with another client is at the final stage, but he did not name it.
“Activity is high, almost every day meetings with new clients are held, but projects are complex and decisions are not made quickly,” the park director said.
According to him, it is planned to attract at least $100 million of investment in both parks.
“Only for buildings: this is 10–15 hectares of 35 hectares of the park’s area. This is already $50 million, and plus equipment and other things,” Khmurych said.
BILA TSERKVA 2, INDUSTRIAL PARK, INVESTMENT, UFUTURE, VASYL KHMELNYTSKY
Ukraine should create equal opportunities and access to education for young talents whatever income they can have. Vasyl Khmelnytsky, an entrepreneur and owner of UFuture Investment Group, made this statement in an interview for AIN. According to Mr Khmelnytsky, he is now bringing the most advanced and innovative educational institutions into UNIT.City Innovation Park he created.
“We want to invite as many quality educational institutions as possible here and are ready to offer them favorable conditions. For example, now we are in talks with a school of English from the West. I will lease premises to them at cost price in an effort to bring them in our initiative. After all, it is difficult to become successful today without a good command of English. If you have a good educational project, come to us, we will offer you good conditions,” said Vasyl Khmelnytsky.
He mentioned DTEK Academy as an example, saying that they had a strong methodological basis and expertise. In future, Vasyl Khmelnytsky expects the UNIT Factory educational initiative to expand to have up to 2,500 students.
The entrepreneur is set to build something like a student dormitory in UNIT.City in a move to create comfortable conditions for all students, regardless of the wealth of their families: for young people from small towns who cannot afford to rent expensive housing in the capital city. Those who will not have money even to pay for the dormitory will be able to enjoy a credit line with a very low interest rate of 5%.
At the same time, Vasyl Khmelnytsky reminded that the school would be tuition-free.
Commonly, talented people do not have enough money. Vasyl Khmelnytsky believes that if the tuition is high, the children of rich parents will come to school, without any motivation and ambitions. “If we offer equal conditions for all, we will bring real talents in UNIT.City. These very children will later join businesses based in UNIT.City. Here we have the following business model: the costs do not scare me so much, because I understand the future income from the entire system. This is a long game, and the return will not come immediately, but in a few years,” Vasyl Khmelnytsky underscored.
According to the businessman, students having a strong academic performance will have high chances to find a job in companies based in UNIT.City. However, no one will force them to work for one or another company. Mr Khmelnytsky said they would be able to choose either to work for a UNIT.City resident company or land a job outside the park.
Vasyl Khmelnytsky emphasized the role of the educational environment in UNIT.City, saying it creates added value. “People sometimes tell me that it is a little expensive here. Indeed, somewhere you can find a price, which is lower by $2 per sq m, but here we have students, schools, universities, other companies, educational programs, accelerators, laboratories, security and so on. If you find no point in this, there is no reason to spend $2 more in this case. However, the bonuses offered by UNIT.City will help you become better, that is why the price is higher,” he said, summing up the project.
The Plank Electrotechnic plant, the manufacturer of the modern electrical systems, part of the conglomerate UFuture Investment Group belonged to businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky, will start operating on the territory of the Bila Tserkva industrial park this autumn. “This autumn we will get a plant that will produce products. They will be used not only in Ukraine, they will be exported to Europe, since we will build all the plants to meet the European standards,” Khmelnytsky said in an interview with the Crocus local television channel posted on the Facebook page of the businessman.
According to the website of UFuture, on the average, Plank Electrotechnic is to produce 4.6 million units of electrical fixtures and other electrotechnic products per year. Some 50 jobs would be created at the first stage, and later with the development of the cluster – up to 300 jobs. The electrical fixtures market in Ukraine is estimated by the company at UAH 500 million a year. Ukrainian electrical fixtures and other electrotechnic products will boast excellent European quality and competitive value.
According to the posting on the UFuture’s website, the launch of the plant will be the launch of the new cluster Plank, an innovative production cluster that allows efficient cooperation and development of enterprises from various industries that use high-tech polymers and composites in production.
The enterprises forming this cluster will become the first production facility located in the Bila Tserkva industrial park. They will produce electrical, construction and machine-building commodities made of advanced materials.
“Now Ukraine lacks domestically produced goods with the use of engineering polymers and composites, especially advanced ones,” the group said.
At the second stage, production will be launched at the cluster that will employ the method of extrusion of reinforced pipes for water supply and heating systems, installation boxes and skirtings of various sizes. Also, pultrusion technology will be used to produce composite fittings, profiles and mesh made of fiberglass.
All cluster plants will operate under a single quality control and design system, with one supplier of materials as well as raw materials.
Separately, it is planned to develop the logistics capacities of the cluster – a specialized warehouse for the storage of plastic and composite primary granules will be built.
The cluster is ready to cooperate with Ukrainian enterprises and international companies operating in the segment of production of plastic masses, polymers and composites. Cooperation can include both the lease of production capacities in the industrial park area and joint investment in the development of similar projects in Ukraine.
“Our closest plans are to start building three or four plants this year and in three or four years to build 20 plants,” Khmelnytsky said.
In April 2018, the Economic Development and Trade Ministry placed the Bila Tserkva industrial park in the register of industrial parks. In October 2017, Ukrainian entrepreneur and philanthropist Vasyl Khmelnytsky has put his business projects and social initiatives under one umbrella brand, UFuture Investment Group. It incorporates UDP developing company, as well as Bila Tserkva industrial park, UNIT.City and LvivTech.City innovative parks, UDP Renewables.
BILA TSERKVA, INDUSTRIAL PARK, INVESTMENT GROUP, PLANK ELECTROTECHNIC PLANT, UFUTURE, VASYL KHMELNYTSKY
