The Ukrainian Railways public joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) wants to get rid of its non-core assets in order to reduce its costs. The company’s Director of Strategic Development and Investment Policy Anton Sabolevskyi announced this at a round table on development of infrastructure in the regions on November 9.
"We are ready to transfer our non-core assets – hospitals and quarries – to local authorities. We are ready to discuss these issues with the authorities because quarries are the mainstays of the economies of certain cities," he said.
Sabolevskyi also said at the roundtable that buses could be launched on low-traffic routes instead of trains.
Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Kistion said in early September that the Cabinet of Ministers had developed a procedure according to which Ukrzaliznytsia would dispose of its assets, which should help the company improve its efficiency.
"PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia’s charter capital includes many liquid and illiquid assets following its corporatization. However, the company has not had the opportunity to either transfer the use or these assets or lease them out until now. Consequently, many assets on the books of Ukrzaliznytsia (warehouses and buildings of various types) have been idling for years, but they could be operated for the benefit of the company," said the deputy prime minister.
At the same time, there is still no information about whether this draft Cabinet of Ministers resolution on the procedure for disposal of Ukrzaliznytsia’s assets has been adopted.
The Ukrainian Railways public joint-stock company was created on the basis of the Ukrzaliznytsia state railway administration as well as more than 50 rail transport enterprises and institutions, which were merged. The new public joint-stock company includes six railways, railcar repair plants, state railway enterprises, rail transport design and research institutes, and several technological design and engineering bureaus. The company began commercial operations in December 2015.
