Feasibility study of concession of state stevedoring companies «Olvia» and «Kherson» presented for acquaintance to potential investors
On 19th September, 2018 in Kiev, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) held a conference for potential participants of the upcoming contests for the selection of the concessionaire in ports of Olvia and Kherson. According to the press release of USPA (Ukrainian Sea Port Authority) says Representatives of more than 25 Ukrainian and foreign companies (USA, China, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, Japan, Turkey, Qatar, Korea) came to Kiev to get acquainted with the presentation of feasibility studies of the projects..
The feasibility study of pilot concession projects was developed by the Consortium of International Consultants, formed by the EBRD and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The opening of the conference was attended by: the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Volodymyr Omelyan, the Head of the USPA, Raivis Veckagans, the IFC regional manager for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, Jason Brett Pellmar, and the Head of Infrastructure and Energy of the EBRD in Ukraine, Mark Magaletsky.
«Business is interested in concession projects of state stevedoring companies in ports of Olvia and Kherson. After the presentation of the feasibility study of the projects, we will hold more than 10 individual meetings with potential investors, where we will discuss the possibility of their participation in the concession tenders", Raivis Veckagans noted. In addition, he added that the pilot projects in Olvia and Kherson are only the first step in the transformation of state-owned stevedoring companies through public-private partnership. In the future, based on the experience of the first concession tenders, the state and investors will be able to interact more effectively when implementing similar projects in ports of Chornomorsk and Yuzhnyi.
The professional interest of business in pilot projects of state stevedores concessions in ports of Olvia and Kherson is also evidenced by the composition of the conference participants. Basically it is port operators, cargo owners and international traders. All of them either have extensive experience in the port industry in Ukraine and abroad, or are interested in creating or developing their own transshipment facilities in Ukrainian ports.
“This once again proves that Ukraine is becoming more interesting for investors. We strive to prepare concession projects in accordance with the best world practices in strict accordance with all norms and rules. This will allow investors to be confident in their investments and become strategic long-term partners of Ukraine. And I want to emphasize that the President of Ukraine and the Government support the modernization of infrastructure and attracting investors through the mechanism of public-private partnership. I hope that the bill on concession No. 8125 will be voted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in October,” said Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Volodymyr Omelyan. He also added that the feasibility study of the pilot projects of Olvia and Kherson was developed in accordance with the current legislation, therefore, a tender for choosing a concessionaire can be held regardless of the adoption of a new bill.
Some representatives of foreign companies on the eve of the conference had time to get acquainted with the work of state stevedores in ports of Olvia and Kherson. „We’ve just returned from Kherson and Mykolayiv, got acquainted with the work of stevedores in these ports, so today's presentation of the feasibility study of the concession was twice as interesting for us. Projects, of course, deserve attention. But before making further decisions, we need to get acquainted with the conditions in detail and analyze them taking into account the peculiarities of the Ukrainian market,“ the representatives of the Nectar Group (UK) commented on the results of the conference.
In turn, the participants of the conference from the Turkish company CEYGROUP — the operator of Samsun port – are considering the concession projects of the ports of Olvia and Kherson in the context of developing their business and building a single logistics chain from Ukrainian producers of agricultural products to the end user – the clients of the Turkish company. „We are already processing agricultural goods from Ukraine. The possibilityof developing own transshipment in these ports will bring us closer to the manufacturer and may allow us to optimize the logistics. Some conditionsfor feasibility studies, for example, the number of personnel, in comparison with international benchmarks, require additional consultations. However, the projects as a whole are interesting“.
Individual negotiations between representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, IFC, EBRD, USPA and investors will continue until the end of the week.