A commission inspected the Orlivka state border crossing in the Odesa region last week on the instructions of the Ministry of Economic Development & Trade and Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv. The commission concluded that all the necessary conditions for the types of border control stipulated by law have been completed on the Ukrainian side.
According to the commission, the border crossing and the ferry service connecting it with the Isaccea crossing on the Romanian side should begin operation this summer, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Ukrainian Seaports Authority (USPA).
"It will be able to handle about 1,000 trucks and 250 passenger cars per day. Taking account of the professional experience and knowledge of experts at the Reni seaport, ferry traffic control operations will be performed by the state-owned Ukrainian Seaports Authority," the USPA said.
Opening of the ferry will simplify the procedure for crossing the Ukrainian-Romanian border and eliminate the need to pass through the territory of Moldova, which will reduce the distance by about 100 kilometers.
Orlivka will be the only border crossing between Ukraine and the European Union in the Odesa region. It is the first border crossing to be created from scratch with private investment since Ukraine attained independence.
The Odesa region’s Governor Maksym Stepanov recently said that the Ukrainian part of the ferry crossing would be commissioned by March 2019. The launch of the border crossing (after completion of the work on the Romanian side) has already been postponed several times. Ukraine’s Deputy Infrastructure Minister Viktor Dovhan said in early February that it would be launched before the end of 2019.
