The Cabinet of Ministers has provided funding for the state-owned enterprise National Project Air Express to stop the implementation of a project of passenger railway communication between Kyiv and Boryspil airport.
The government adopted the relevant resolution at a meeting on Wednesday.
According to an explanatory note to the document, this will minimize Ukraine’s losses associated with the termination of credit and commercial agreements concluded between the SOE National Project Air Express and the China National Complete Engineering Corporation together with the Export-Import Bank of China.
It is expected that as a result of the resumption of negotiations and termination of agreements, about $73.7 million can be returned to the Ukrainian side.
The explanatory note also states that at the moment the SOE National Project Air Express is not solvent, and in order for the enterprise to be able to terminate the contracts under the mentioned project, it is necessary to pay off debts on salaries and payments to the state budget, as well as accumulate funds for participation in litigation.
In particular, the state-owned enterprise National Project Air Express has arrears in wages – UAH 831,000, in payment of personal income tax – UAH 341,000, in military fee – UAH 28,500, and in single social security tax – UAH 222,000.
As reported, in Ukraine for a long time there was an unrealized national project Air Express – railway passenger communication Kyiv-Boryspil International Airport, construction of other infrastructure facilities in Kyiv region. For its implementation in 2011, under state guarantees, a loan agreement was concluded with the Export Import Bank of China in the amount of $372.3 million. CCEC was appointed as a general contractor for the turnkey construction works.
In June 2015, it became known that Ukraine and China were ready to discuss the possibility of redirecting credit funds provided for Air Express to other projects, and in March 2016, the Ministry of Infrastructure received the consent of Chinese partners to reformat the Air Express project.
On November 30, 2018, Ukrzaliznytsia launched an express train to Boryspil airport with a floating schedule of 21 to 30 voyages per day. To this end, about 4 km of non-electrified track was added to the existing railway infrastructure, including a 272 m long railway overpass over the M03 Kyiv-Kharkiv highway. Two passenger platforms were built. For operation on the route Central Kyiv Railway Station-Boryspil Airport, Ukrzaliznytsia repaired five rail buses manufactured by Pesa Bydgoszcz SA previously purchased for operation on other routes.
AIR EXPRESS, CHINA, GOVERNMENT
