You're reading: Economy ministry backs transfer of seaports to concession instead of privatization

The Economic Development and Trade Ministry backs the proposal of the Infrastructure Ministry to transfer seaports to concession instead of their privatization, First Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Maskym Nefyodov has said.

“Most of facilities can be simply privatized. In some cases concession would be more interesting. In the case with ports it is easier first to show a result with a concessionaire. If the result is good, one can speak about the privatization of other facilities and parts of these facilities,” he said at a briefing devoted to the results of the operation of top 100 state-owned enterprises (SOE) on August 22.

Nefyodov said that concession is a plan A for at least three ports. It concerns Olvia stevedoring company, Kherson merchandise port and Chornomorsk maritime merchandise port, for which the SPILNO public-private partnership (PPP) management office of the Infrastructure Ministry has drawn up concession projects.

“As for the concession projects being implemented by the Infrastructure Ministry, we not only back them, but we are also taking active part in their designing and shaping concession legislation in general… The ports are the facilities where it is easier to show the result with a concessionaire.

As reported, the government approved the concept of the strategic vision for the management of SOE, according to which 378 enterprises from the general list of 3,444 will remain in state property in the long term period, 359 will be transferred to concession, 893 will be privatized, and 1,255 will be liquidated.