Agricultural company Bunge has invested $180
million in a new industrial-cargo complex in Mykolaiv seaport.
The project is one of the largest foreign investments
yet made in the agricultural sector of Ukraine, according to the United States
Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.
President Petro Poroshenko attended the
opening ceremony of the seaport on Wednesday. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony,
Poroshenko said the investment was evidence of an improving climate in the
country for investors.
“The launch of this complex is an example of
strong faith of the investor in good economic future of Ukraine,” Poroshenko
said.
The complex will process oilseeds and operate
as a transshipment center. The handling capacity of the facility is 816,000
tons of bulk cargo, one million tons of grain, and 360,000 tons of raw oil.
Cranes ready for operation at the industrial-cargo complex in Mykolaiv seaport. (UNIAN)
The new complex will increase cargo handling
in the port by 1 million tons and boost export potential.
The opening of the complex follows several
years of growth in Ukraine’s agricultural sector, which have seen Ukraine become
the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil and its sixth largest grain exporter.
The United States Chamber of Commerce in
Ukraine called the new complex “a great example of the readiness of
international companies to invest in Ukraine.”
Bunge Ukraine Managing Director Dmytro
Horshunov said the company is developing infrastructure in Mykolaiv seaport. In
2011, Bunge opened a handling terminal at Mykolaiv seaport, expanding Ukraine’s
export capacity by 3 million tons a year.
Bunge, a New York based company, already
operates five grain elevators throughout Ukraine and has invested in the
country’s security. The company also operates an integrated oilseed plant in
Dnipropetrovsk, one of the country’s largest for processing sunflower seeds and
sunflower oil production.
Bunge has invested in Ukraine outside of
agriculture as well. At the port opening, Poroshenko thanked Bunge for spending
Hr 1 million ($40,000) on supporting anti-terrorist operation soldiers.
With reporting by Interfax and UNIAN
