IFC will contribute to the modernization of Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company’s fleet

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is part of the World Bank Group, will contribute to the modernization and increase of the fleet of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company (UDP). It is stated in the press release of the UDP. The corresponding agreement on cooperation was signed in London as part of the conference on the restoration of Ukraine.

According to Alfonso Garcia Mora, IFC’s vice president for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Ukraine will need unprecedented amounts of capital to rebuild its infrastructure and economy, and the private sector will be key to meeting those needs.

«IFC supports the Ukrainian government in mobilizing such private investments, including through projects such as the project with the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company to modernize its fleet and increase the sustainability of the transport sector and Ukraine’s export potential,» he said.

As the CEO of UDP, Dmytro Moskalenko, noted, the company recently carried out reforms regarding the efficiency and transparency of processes. The company consistently demonstrates successful results, expands its areas of activity, has a clear development strategy, which opened up an opportunity for cooperation with international financial institutions.

«This week, the UDP paid record dividends to the state budget for 2022 – more than UAH 146.4 million. This is more than the dividends paid in the entire history of the company. We set a very high pace, but the further development of the company requires attracting large-scale investments and strategic cooperation with international partners,» said Dmytro Moskalenko.

According to him, the Danube is of strategic importance for Ukraine, as it is a global transport corridor, an alternative direction for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products, and access to the European market.

The head of the UDP noted that cooperation with the IFC will involve not only the attraction of investments in the launched program of modernization and expansion of the fleet. The shipping company also set a goal of meeting the high standards of the IFC regarding corporate policy, compliance, and financial transparency.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022 UDP handled over more than 1.8 million tons of cargo, the basis of which was grain and steel raw materials. In particular, in 2022, almost 500,000 tons of iron and steel products were transported to the Middle Danube. In total, in the first quarter of 2023, transportation of steel cargo by the UDP fleet amounted to approximately 70,000 tons.