Deputy Prime Volodymyr Groisman, who is a parliamentary candidate for the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, believes that privatization of ports is a more effective mechanism for developing the port industry, compared with concession contracts.
"The most important thing is efficient management of property. We believe that the process of privatization is as effective as possible if it is made more transparent,” Groisman said at a press conference in response to questions from CFTS.
At the same time, Groisman is not ruling out the use of the concession mechanism if players and experts deem it necessary.
"This issue is one of the elements of the coalition agreement, but we are open to discussion and suggestions. If there are better proposals, they should be taken into account in the coalition agreement," Groisman said.
As reported, the Petro Poroshenko Bloc has proposed suspending the granting of long-term concessions on operation of seaports and instead privatizing them after the situation in eastern Ukraine stabilizes. The relevant provision is contained in the draft coalition agreement prepared by the Petro Poroshenko Bloc.
In addition, the draft coalition agreement proposes adopting a law entitled "On Domestic River Transport" to establish common rules for transportation in inland waterways, management of port infrastructure, procedures for accessing it, and procedures for performing commercial activities at river ports. The law is expected to outline an approach to determining whether port facilities should remain owned by the state or whether they should be privatized.
