Ukrainian-Romanian Ferry To Be Built Across River Danube In October

Work on construction of a ferry across River Danube between Orlovka (Ukraine) and Isaccea (Romania) in the Reni district of the Odesa region will be completed in October this year. The Orlovka Ferry Complex’s Deputy Director Vitalii Nikula announced this to the Center for Transport Strategies, the CFTS correspondent reports.

"Excavation work will be completed in March, after which the construction will start immediately," Nikula said, noting that the progress of the project will be inspected by all state agencies. Construction of the ferry is supported by the Odesa regional administration and approved by the State Border Service, the State Fiscal Service, and the Ministry of Infrastructure.

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"Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Yurii Vaskov personally checked the progress of the work at the end of last week," Nikula said.

Construction started in the autumn of 2015. Before that, the Odesa regional administration leased two plots of land in the Reni district to the Orlovka Ferry Complex Ltd. for 49 years. In February 2015, an area of 5.6 hectares (for construction of an international border crossing point across the state border); in October, 2.6 hectares of water area (for construction of hydraulic structures).

It was reported earlier that the Odesa regional administration had refused to grant permission to lease a land plot for 49 years at the request of the Orlovka Ferry Complex.

According to the CFTS’ sources, the request was rejected because the company intended to lease a land plot on the Orlovka Ferry Complex is already performing work. "We are not opposed to other investments in the construction of the crossing and implementation of such projects. However, other companies should perform work on other plots," said Nikula.

As reported, in the fall of 2014, the Cabinet of Ministers approved an agreement with the government of Romania on the opening of an international border crossing point for ferry, passenger, and cargo traffic between the population centers of Orlovka (Ukraine) and Isaccea (Romania). The investor in this project – the Orlovka Ferry Complex – has announced its intention to invest about EUR 5.5 million in the project.