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Dredging in Yuzhny, reconstruction of railroad sidetracks to ports, construction of grain terminal in Chornomorsk and ferry line crossing the Danube in Bessarabia are the most spectacular transport investment projects, which were presented during the conference «Odessa Region investment potential: transport, infrastructure, agro-logistics» in June.
Odessa Regional State Administration (RSA) acted as a host of this conference. First Vice-Governor Vladimir Zhmak underlined the gradual improvement of regional investment climate. «The ports are being developed and significant investors like Soufflet and ADM are coming». The official is sure, Odessa got the trust.
Odessa Region is the biggest in Ukraine by area, and is included in top-5 by population size. The region has eight sea ports, it accounts for 60% of Ukraine cargo volume, five international transport corridors cross its territory. Considering all these factors, Odessa must be interesting for investors. According to Sergey Semenov, the Head of RSA Investment Department, about twenty projects of local and foreign investors are being implemented today in Odessa region.
Port Yuzhny. The depths for capesizes.
Traditionally, Yuzhny sea port was presented as one of the most important in Ukraine. The head of the port authority Maksim Shirokov provided an overview of the progress in a renewed large-scale dredging project. According to which, the maximum depth of the harbor will become 21 metres and Port Yuzhny will be the most deepwater port on the Black Sea.
The project aimed to deepen the canal to the docks №5-6 (interrupted due to devaluations of national currencies in 2014) has been adjusted in the institute «CHERNOMORNIIPROJEKT». According to the head of the port authority, 18.5 metres of the canal draught are recorded as the first start-up facility. The second start-up facility provides for the deepening up to 20 metres. The third one – up to 21 metres.
The total cost of the project is about 1 bln hrn; the realization of the project is planned to be finished during two years. The dockworkers expect that the reconciliation procedure will give an opportunity to enter the selection of the contractor during the current year.
The result of upgrading the death has been clearly demonstrated: Maksim Shirokov reported that in 2015 (when the canal draught became 18.5 m) the amount of port charges in Yuzhny increased by 9.6% to $74 mln, and the number of vessel calls of capesizes increased by 10 (with general decrease in the port calls number of 28 points), which helped the port to set a new transshipment record at the level of 48.5 mln tones.
Railway. Roads to the ports.
Nowadays, «Odessa railway» (the branch of the State Administration of Railway Transport of Ukraine «Ukrzaliznytsia»), in the context of work with sea ports, is focused on the reconstruction of the section «Chernomorskaya-Beregovaya» (sea port Yuzhny). As noted by Vyacheslav Yeremin, First Deputy Head of Odessa railway, so far, three phases of the project has been implemented (including railroad siding «12km» and the second main track on the stage «12-24 km» building, financed through TIS Group), so that, the section capacity has grown to 52 pairs of trains a day.
During the next, the fourth, phase it is planned to make the second main track on the stage «5-10 km» (the investor – PROMTEKH, TOV), «10-12 km» («Trading house «Bread harbor» ltd) and «24-27 km» (PIK ltd). It will give an opportunity to bring the section capacity to 67 pairs of trains.
The fifth phase of the project includes the building of the railroad siding «29-30km» (Allseeds Black Sea ltd) and the second main track on the stage «30km – Beregovaya station» (Allseeds Black Sea ltd and Prychaly Kominternu Ltd). All of this will increase the section capacity to 78 pairs of trains a day.
«Risoil Terminal». Grain specialization
Risoil Terminal, the import/export operator for bulk oils, has opened the grain handling direction. New terminal was launched some month ago in Ilyichevsk Sea Port. As Tatiana Kulikova, Deputy Director of «Risoil Terminal», said two out of three investment project stages have been done.
The final stage of the project is planned to be implemented during a year and a half. There are plans to build the second silo system, and also a two-side pier for cargo handling. Alongside depth will top 16 metres, load rate – 2 x 1.5 ths tonnes per hour or 2 x 30 ths tonnes a day.
One-time storage capacity has to grow up to 125 mln tonnes, transshipment terminal capacity – up to 2.3 mln a year.
Ferry Complex on the Danube. The gateway to Europe.
By the end of 2016 (the beginning of 2017) the ferry, crossing the Danube, between Ukrainian Orlovka and Rumanian Isaccea is expected to be completed. Ukrainian enterprise-investor «Orlovka ferry complex» has begun construction work in October 1915, when all the problems connected with the creation of the international crossing-point over the state border were solved by the government. Vitaliy Nicula, representative of the company, noticed that preparatory work is finished and electricity and water supplies are being installed.
There are plans to build a berth (with the opportunity of passenger-and-freight ferry complex setting), a sediment basin for lorry transport and a helicopter deck.
Under the prior arrangements with the Romanian side, on the line Orlovka-Issacea (distance 900 m.) there will be two ferries, arriving at intervals of not more than 30 minutes. It will give the opportunity to carry up to 500 vehicles and 1000 passengers every day.
The investors are sure, as a result of this project new workplaces will appear, Odessa region will get budget receipts and new infrastructure, and the country will get a direct, independent transport corridor into Southern Europe.