A new food-grade and industrial salt plant is set to open in the Odesa region in early 2026, supplying more than half of Ukraine’s domestic salt demand, while helping to restore a Black Sea estuary.
Construction began in 2024 and is now in its final phase, Ukrinform reported, citing the Kuyalnytskyi National Nature Park press center.
According to preliminary estimates, the new Odesa region plant will produce about 15,000 tons of salt each month, according to Vitalii Rudenko, co-founder of the LLC Chornomorskyi Salt Plant.
The Turkish firm SALT PLUS became an investor, working alongside specialists from Ukraine’s state-owned Artemsol.
LLC Chornomorskyi Salt Plant invested $2.8 million in the facility, using funds from Ukraine’s “5-7-9%” loan program, which provides low-interest financing to small and medium-sized businesses.
The shutdown of Artemsol, Ukraine’s largest salt producer, in April 2022 left the country with a significant shortfall in food and industrial salt. Artemsol had supplied a large portion of domestic demand, but Russiaʼs repeated bombardment during the full-scale invasion made continued production impossible.
“The salt processing will include several stages of deep purification, grinding, and a unique drying method. This will allow us to cover more than 50% of Ukraine’s salt market needs,” Ukrinform quoted Rudenko.
The Chornomorskyi Salt Plant will also participate in the restoration of the Kuyalnik estuary on the northwest coast of the Black Sea, home to rare therapeutic mud. It has recently reached salinity levels several times higher than normal, threatening its delicate ecosystem.
“If we can remove excess salt and restore the natural balance of the estuary, we will do it. This is our responsibility to the region and the country,” Rudenko said.
The Kuyalnytskyi National Nature Park is working with plant specialists to develop a solution that lowers the estuary’s salinity without using public funds.
The plan relies on basin sedimentation: excess salt will settle in specially designed basins and then be processed at the plant. This method is used worldwide in countries such as the United States, Spain, and Turkey, Ukrinform wrote.
“In hot weather, the salinity level in Kuyalnyk exceeds 300%. To preserve the mud and allow its regeneration, this indicator needs to be reduced to 180-250%,” the National Park explained.