According to estimates by the Ministry of Infrastructure, active commercialization and privatization of stevedoring assets will allow attraction of about USD 2 billion in investments and modern technologies, annually upgrade of fixed assets by at least 20%, and creation of about 5,000 additional jobs. The press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure announced this in a statement.
On 28 March, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Yurii Vaskov participated in the roundtable "Privatization of State Stevedoring Companies. Ways of Attracting International and Ukrainian Investors to Port Infrastructure." The roundtable was organized by the Ministry of Economy with the aim of accelerating adoption of the draft law No. 2488 excluding state stevedoring companies from the list of companies prohibited for privatization.
As Vaskov said during the roundtable, Ukraine is currently the only country in Europe that has state stevedoring companies.
"State business operations in the port industry are losing to the private sector. We are not discussing privatization of strategic infrastructure – berths, approach canals, etc. However, commercialization of the non-strategic assets – warehouses, crane facilities – that constitute the concept of a stevedoring company should be possible. This includes privatization, concession, and other forms of public-private partnership," Vaskov said.
The average level of depreciation of the infrastructure of state stevedoring companies is 80%, according to the statement. The Ministry of Infrastructure "fully supports" the draft law No. 2488, Vaskov stressed at the roundtable.
