NIBULON’s General Director, Hero of Ukraine Oleksiy Vadaturskyy told that the company planed to restore the infrastructure of the Southern Buh River and started passenger transportation to Voznesensk (Mykolaiv region) by spring.
Two hydrofoils (Voskhod type) were added to the company’s fleet and have already undergone the sea trials. They received the name “NIBULON EXPRESS”. The hydrofoils have passenger capacity of 79 persons, travel at 65 km per hour, have range of 500 km, and endurance of 7 hours. 
According to Oleksiy Vadaturskyy, the company plans to add five more hydrofoils by summer 2017, thereby providing routes between Kyiv, Kaniv, Cherkasy, Chyhyryn and between Mykolaiv, Ochakiv, Kherson, Zaliznyi Port, the Kinburn Spit, Voznesensk, Nova Odesa.
This weekend, on the Day of workers of agriculture, the company’s employees and their families can travel by new passenger vessels. Head of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration Oleksii Savchenko, Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych, head of Mykolaiv Regional Council Viktoriia Moskalenko, Cherkasy mayor Anatolii Bondarenko, Voznesensk mayor Vitalii Lukov, head of Nova Odesa District State Administration Yevhen Verbin, and Nova Odesa mayor Oleksandr Poliakov visited the presentation of one of the vessels on the eve.
“I would like to thank NIBULON because, first of all, revival of passenger transportation along the rivers is a real event, a huge holiday, and improvement for people; secondly, this is the company which always supports the citizens’ needs”, noted Oleksii Savchenko. 
He stressed that that was not the first NIBULON’s project which was of great social importance. Head of Mykolaiv Regional State Administration added that there will be sense to talk about the economic effect after the first trips to Voznesensk. “We see that despite the adverse events, NIBULON generates positive news for the region”, noted the governor. 
He also appealed to Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych with a request to consider the restoration of the river station in the city. “There are hydrofoils. We have to solve the problem of the river station and to pay attention that there is the company ready to lend a helping hand”, added Oleksii Savchenko.
In turn, Oleksandr Sienkevych stressed that a preliminary agreement about cooperation with NIBULON in this regard had already been established. “We want to arrange a berth near the city council, to carry out dredging in cooperation with Oleksiy Vadaturskyy so the citizens could use new means of transportation more actively.  I am very grateful to NIBULON as it has set the mission to revive the river”, added the mayor.
Voznesensk mayor Vitaliy Lukov noted that navigation along the Southern Buh River was just the beginning of the long way to revive passenger transportation along the rivers of Ukraine. “Six months ago Oleksiy Vadadurskyy presented this idea and I didn’t believe. Now not only do we expect the first trips; this will be return of the lost. This will have positive impact on many people which, unfortunately, we lack and we as local authority and as responsible business should support”, said Vitalii Lukov.
NIBULON’s General Director Oleksiy Vadaturskyy noted that during the winter period the company planed to restore the infrastructure for passenger transportation along the Southern Buh River and to start the first scheduled trips to Voznesensk, Nova Odesa at the beginning of spring navigation. “According to the company’s strategy, we plan to arrange passenger transportation along the Dnipro River, the Southern Buh River, and the Desna River. We announced it a few months ago. Nobody did believe. Today we have demonstrated that we have our Ukrainian hydrofoils which will sail under the Ukrainian flag, with Ukrainian teams, and with a Ukrainian captain”, stressed Olesksiy Vadaturskyy.
According to him, the company will seek the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada to reduce transportation costs by exempting the excise tax from the fuel price for river transport. “The excise tax on fuel is directed to roads. What are the roads here? The excise tax is being paid neither during passenger transportation nor during cargo transportation in the whole world, in the USA, in Europe. We pay it in Ukraine. This is the reason no one uses rivers in Ukraine”, noted NIBULON’s General Director.
He added that unwillingness of lobbyists of ports of “Big Odesa” to have ports of the Dnipro River and the Southern Buh River as competitors was the reason for that situation. “I’m opposed to the draft law 2475a introducing the river due; it will be used for needs of River Ports Authority. A city, for example Mykolaiv, receives nothing. I’m very grateful to mayors of Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, Kaniv, Kherson, Kremenchuk who have addressed the Head of the Verkhovna Rada with a joint letter asking to remove it from the agenda, bring it back to the Committee and make improvements together with city mayors, businessmen, and international experts”, noted Oleksiy Vadaturskyy.
He added that the company itself dealt with dredging to revive both passenger and cargo transportation along the rivers of the country. “No one had been taking care, all quays have lost their depths; one cannot go anywhere from Mykolaiv because there are no depths. Our company will deal with it with the help of local authorities”, stated Oleksiy Vadaturskyy.
NIBULON’s General Director, head of Mykolaiv Regional Administration Oleksii Savchenko and Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych stressed that they supported the initiative on division of the port due for the purpose of development of the city infrastructure.
“I keep saying we don’t need any additional taxes. We have to divide what we have in a proper way. Together with Oleksiy Vadaturskyy we visited a minister Volodymyr Omelian, presented this project to revive river transport. I hope that we’ll gain understanding in the near future and Mykolaiv, as well as the other cities with water communication, will receive money it deserves”, noted Oleksandr Sienkevych.
“This is a simple picture: Mykolaiv port unloads 20 million tons of cargo per year, Kherson port unloads 4 million tons. If one pays at least USD 1.5 per ton for city needs, USD 12 million could be used for infrastructure of Mykolaiv and Kherson. It will enable us to repair roads and not only the access roads to ports”, added Oleksiy Vadaturskyy.