JSC Ukreximbank and the State Agency of Automobile Roads of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) with the participation of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky have signed an agreement to provide the first tranche for updating roads in Ukraine in the amount of UAH 5.782 billion from the amount of financing, which will total UAH 19.3 billion.
“Despite the quarantine measures in our country, the most important thing is that the state works and, together with the banking sector and construction companies, builds kilometers of roads and “sews” our country! As I said, roads, bridges are a priority,” Zelensky said after the signing of the agreement.
He emphasized that the Big Construction program is the image of Ukraine as a country with modern and high-quality roads on which you can travel. The president also noted that the program will contribute to the creation of new jobs.
The president’s press service notes that the attraction of funds from Ukreximbank under state guarantees by Ukravtodor became possible due to the adoption of laws on amendments to the budget that Zelensky signed on February 4, 2020, and thanks to the decision of the National Bank to lower the refinancing rate. The loan interest rate will be 10.5% per annum.
“We, as a state bank, support the Big Construction project. With the signing of the agreement, Ukravtodor will receive the first tranche in the amount of UAH 5.782 billion at a rate of 10.5% per annum, which is 2% lower than the Cabinet of Ministers foresaw,” chairman of the board of Ukreximbank Yevhen Metsger said.
He said that Ukreximbank is ready to become a financial partner of the Big Construction project and lend its shoulder to all companies, in particular contractors, that will be involved in the construction of the facilities under this program.
AGREEMENT, ROADS, TRANCHE, UKRAVTODOR, UKREXIMBANK, UPDATING
Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine LLC (TSO of Ukraine) and Romania’s Transgaz have signed an interconnection agreement meeting European rules to start cooperation from January 1, 2020. The Ukrainian operator recalled that the negotiations with the mediation of the European Commission have been going on for three years. Operators of Bulgaria, Greece and Moldova have also been involved in them.
“This means that all suppliers have the opportunity of freely transporting gas with a new supply route – from Southern Europe and Turkey – through Bulgaria and Romania – to Ukraine and further to Moldova. That is, from January 1, at the Isaccea 1-Orlivka 1 interstate point a daily capacity on the Ukraine-Romania route in the amount of 17.8 million cubic meters will be available, as well as 15.8 million cubic meters per day in the opposite direction,” the operator said.
The first auctions for booking capacities at the Isaccea 1-Orlivka 1 point should be held in the coming days.
The operator said that the agreement previously signed between the gas transmission system operators of Ukraine and Romania did not allow gas to be transported in the reverse mode, and also did not provide European rules for interaction, since such an opportunity was blocked by the current contract between Naftogaz Ukrainy and PJSC Gazprom.
In addition, such an agreement creates an additional technical opportunity for Moldova to alternatively import gas for its own needs from Turkey and Greece if Gazprom stops transit to Europe through Ukraine.
“This decision is historic and extremely important, because it allows you to create an additional route for gas imports to Ukraine, primarily to provide gas to Moldovan consumers and border consumers of Ukraine in Odesa region. This will allow winter to pass uninterruptedly, even if the gas transit could be stopped from the Russian Federation,” Director General of TSO of Ukraine Serhiy Makohon said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has amended the Action Plan on Implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, the press service of the Ukrainian government reported. “The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution amending the Action Plan on Implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. The updated plan takes into account the deepening of the Ukraine-EU bilateral relations and a series of decisions adopted by the bilateral bodies of the Association Agreement in recent years,” reads the statement.
The amended document actualizes, aligns and streamlines the objectives with the dynamically evolving EU legislation. The updated tasks are related to customs and financial policy; taxation, entrepreneurship, financial services and competition; justice, social and humanitarian issues; transport; energy economy and energy efficiency; digital sphere, science, technology and innovation; nature management and others.
It is expected that the government’s decision will accelerate Ukraine’s advancement towards the EU and make this process more transparent.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the government of Qatar have signed a protocol amending and supplementing the agreement on air traffic.
According to the website of the Infrastructure Ministry of Ukraine, the corresponding document was signed during the meeting of Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Krykliy with President of the Civil Aviation Authority of Qatar Abdullah bin Nasser Turki Al Subaey.
“We are liberalizing air traffic between Ukraine and the state of Qatar. The signing of today’s protocol will allow expanding the access of airlines of both countries to the air transportation market, eliminating restrictions on the number of flights, types of aircraft, and also destinations in the territories of both countries,” the minister said.
In addition, the minister of infrastructure noted that the signing of the protocol would ensure the creation and operation of a reliable legal mechanism of an international level for the implementation and intensification of the process of bilateral interstate relations between the states, and will also contribute to the development of cooperation in the field of air transport, tourism and the further expansion of the geography of the airlines’ flights.
The Qatari official, in turn, noted that the signing of this document opens up new opportunities and testifies to the cooperation of Ukraine and Qatar at the highest level.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has ratified amendments to Annex XXVII to the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.
Some 231 people’s deputies voted for the corresponding bill at a meeting of the parliament on June 6.
AGREEMENT, ENERGY ANNEX, EU-UKRAINE, RATIFIES, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT
The Verkhovna Rada has ratified an agreement between the governments of Ukraine and France regarding the official support of a project on supply of drinking water to the city of Mariupol (Donetsk region). An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that a total of 258 lawmakers backed the agreement. According to the Framework Agreement, the French side provides Ukraine with a loan in an amount not exceeding EUR 64 million for the project on supply of drinking water to Mariupol.
The agreement also provides for the development of a master plan for improving the water supply and drainage system of Mariupol until 2040.
According to an explanatory note to the bill on ratification, the project will include the construction and launch of modern filtering stations in Mariupol, as well as the modernization of the existing centralized water supply pipelines and drainage system to reduce the consumption of drinking water and discharge of sewage into the environment.
