The State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia) will be able to borrow 10,000 tons of fuel from Ukrhazvydobuvannia if necessary to enable it to address the difficult situation involving diesel fuel on the railways. Infrastructure Minister Andrii Pyvovarskyi announced this during a meeting with journalists late on Wednesday, 5 August.
According to him, the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to recommend that Ukrhazvydobuvannia work directly with Ukrzaliznytsia. "We will be able to borrow up to 10,000 tons if necessary," said Pyvovarskyi.
Ukrzaliznytsia currently has fuel reserves for nine days. "I want to remind you that we worked with a reserve that was sufficient for a maximum of five days and an average of 2-3 days in the first half of the year. After the supplier changed, we reached reserves sufficient for 22 days in July, and this has not happened at Ukrzaliznytsia in the past five years," the minister said.
"I hope that the Antimonopoly Committee will allow us make the purchase, which, in my opinion, will significantly reduce the cost of fuel because it will eliminate the currency risk and direct manufacturers such as the Belarusian Oil Company, which have not worked directly with Ukrzaliznytsia for a long time, should participate in a tender,” Pyvovarskyi said.
