Port of Odessa inaugurates new grain terminal to handle 4m tonnes

An official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in the Port of Odessa of Ukraine for the grain terminal. The projected throughput of the facility is 4 million tonnes a year, the port said in its press release.

The new grain terminal is a joint investment project of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, Odessa sea port and the joint Ukrainian-British Brooklyn-Kiev. The total cost of the project is estimated at $ 125 million.

The project is being implemented in three phases. The storage capacity of grain terminal Phase 1 is 70,000 tonnes. Upon completion the facility will comprise 33 tanks for storage of 241,000 tonnes of grain. The quay wall length is 254 meters with the depth of 13.5 meters. The facility’s specifications allow accommodation of Panamax 60,000ton dry bulk carriers.

Of the total $125 million of public-private partnership, $ 95 million are private investments. The project will held create nearly 300 new jobs.

Brooklyn-Kiev CEO Yuri Gubankov commented: "Ukrainian ports enjoy investment attractiveness. We had conducted extensive preparatory work before the construction on the study of international experience and similar terminals on the Black Sea. And we got serious support from the government".

Among the dignitaries at the ceremony was Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Alexander Vilkul who said: "To strengthen the position of Ukraine as one of the world's largest grain exporters, the government encourages investments for the construction of new terminals at the nation’s ports. This helps create jobs, improves logistics and reduce grain losses during the transshipment. We have been in talks about further investment".

The official said that Ukraine is one of six major exporters in the grain market. This year, the country boasts a record corn harvest of about 60 million tonnes. The grain market experts predict for the next five years a growth in gross grain yield up to 80 million tonnes. Therefore, the government pays special attention to boosting the capacity of Ukrainian ports, which handle more than 90% of agri product exports.