Cabinet of Ministers determines specialization of Ukrainian seaports

The Cabinet of Ministers has determined the specialization of Ukrainian seaports. This is stated in the Cabinet of Ministers directive No. 548 dated July 11, 2013.

According to the text of the relevant strategy, the Odessa and Feodosiya seaports will specialize in transshipment of crude oil and petroleum products; the Yuzhny seaport will specialize in handling chemical goods in bulk; the Odessa, Mariupol, Ilyichevsk, Kerch, and Yuzhny seaports will specialize in handling goods for the metallurgical industry (iron ore, coal, and ferrous metals); the Odessa, Ilyichevsk, Nikolayev, and Kherson seaports will specialize in handling grain cargoes; the Ilyichevsk and Odessa seaports will specialize in containerized cargo.

The Odessa, Sevastopol, and Yalta seaports will handle passenger traffic, facilitate development of tourism, and service cruise ships.

The specialization of seaports in the main types of cargoes on the basis of market conditions is determined based on the following criteria: the proportion of cargo a seaport handles; the proximity of a seaport to raw material and production sites; the limitations of the existing infrastructure and the availability of promising territories for development of a seaport; the optimality of cargo transport routes. The areas of development of seaports are determined based on their main cargo traffic and the current market conditions.

According to the developers of the strategy, its implementation will improve the image of Ukraine as a maritime state and increase of the competitiveness of the port industry; facilitate transshipment of 210 million tons of cargo per year; attract private investments totaling UAH 26 billion in development of port infrastructure; create capacity for transshipment of at least 250 million tons of cargo per year at seaports; increase the utilization efficiency of transshipment facilities to 75-80%; introduce stimulating tariffs for services provided at seaports; facilitate annual generation of UAH 1.54 billion in state budget revenues; create an additional 15,000 jobs.

Financial support for implementation of the strategy is to be provided by the Administration of Seaports of Ukraine state enterprise, business entities of various ownership forms, targeted bank loans, international technical assistance, investment funds, railways and railway companies, and other sources not prohibited by law.

Works involving modernization, repairs, reconstruction, and construction of hydraulic structures and other public port infrastructure can be financed from the state budget.

As reported, President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych signed the Law on Seaports, on the basis of which this strategy was developed, in June 2012 after the parliament adopted the law on May 17, 2012.

Adapted from cfts.org.ua