Bilhorod-Dniester port was sold at auction for UAH 220 million

At the re-privatization online auction for the sale of the Bilhorod-Dniester sea trade port, which took place on March 13, UAH 220 million was offered for the asset. It is stated in a message on the Ministry of Economy website.

The auctions took place in the state system Prozorro.Sale, three participants competed for the right to privatize the asset. During the auction, the value of the port increased by 2.3 times (the starting price was UAH 93.8 million).

According to Yuliya Svyridenko, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, the successful sale of such objects during the war shows that Ukrainian business is ready to invest in the development of the domestic economy.

“The goal of privatization is the guarantee of economic growth. When a new owner comes to an abandoned production and invests in its renovation, it contributes to the creation of new jobs, the growth of collected taxes and the increase of GDP. It is important for us that the ports develop, because this increases Ukraine’s export potential,” the First Deputy Prime Minister noted.

According to the Ministry of Economy, the net loss of the Bilhorod-Dniester port in 2019-2021 ranged from UAH 23.5-28.5 million, for 9 months of 2022 it amounted to UAH 2.9 million. According to the State Property Fund of Ukraine (FSMU), the new owner must pay about UAH 150 million in debt.

Involvement of private investors in unprofitable ports should provide an impetus to the modernization of the port infrastructure, noted the head of FSMU Rustem Umerov. This will increase their capacity, increase the competitiveness of Ukrainian products, and have a positive effect on the country’s export revenues.

The winner of the auction for the sale of the Belgorod-Dniester port (Ukrdoninvest LLC became the winner) has 20 working days to pay the price of the lot after the day of the auction’s end. Only after the receipt of funds to the budget the contract of sale will be signed.

According to Oleksandr Slavskyi, head of the FSMU regional branch in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, currently the company operates only as a dry port. In 9 months of 2022, 272,000 tons of cargo were transshipped here.

“The port needs very large investments for its full-fledged development: modernization of equipment, construction of modern logistics facilities and, of course, dredging. Only a private owner will be able to start modernization, create new jobs with competitive salaries, which will give impetus to the development of both the city and business in Bessarabia and in Ukraine in general,” said Oleksandr Slavskyi.

On January 17, 2023, a privatization auction for the sale of the Ust-Dunaisk port was held. During the auction, the value of the asset increased by three times – up to UAH 201 million. Eight participants took part in the auction.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Ukrainian seaports according to the results of 2022 reduced freight turnover by 61.4% compared to 2021 – to 59 million tons. Export transshipment of cargo by port operators decreased by 59.5% y/y – to 47.8 million tons, and import transshipment –  by 74.2%, to 6.2 million tons. Grain cargoes – 28.8 million tons, and bulk dry cargoes – 4.8 million tons are among the leaders in cargo nomenclature. Sea transport last year provided 54% of Ukrainian exports.