On July 18 at Mykolayiv Regional State Administration there was held a meeting of the working group on issues of the marine and economic complex development of Mykolayiv region with participation of Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Dmytro Demydovych. During the meeting there were discussed issues as to implementation of NIBULON’s investment program to revive navigation along the Dnipro and the Southern Bug Rivers.
According to NIBULON’s Deputy General Director on Legal and Economic Issues Andriy Vasyl’ev, inland water transport ensures the lowest prime cost of cargo carriage in terms of 1 conventional ton of cargo, thus, causing the smallest impact on the environment. An energy efficiency index of inland water transport exceeds trucking in 10 times and railway transportation in 5 times. According to the European Commission calculations, per 5 liters of conventional fuel there can be transported one ton of cargo: by water transport – up to 500 km, by railway – up to 333 km, by motor transport – up to 100 km. Consequently, river transportation is a real way to reorient expensive grain transportation via road to grain carriage by waterways.
The main obstacle in the way of implementing the company’s investment program to revive navigation is a problem of dredging. Ensuring of the Dnipro River guaranteed depth (3.65 m) is Ukraine’s international obligation. However, on Dnipropertovsk area of the Dnipro Reservoir and on Kremenchuk area of the Dniprodzerzhynsk Reservoir the guaranteed depths are not ensured, thus, creating emergency situation and leading to breach of obligations in compliance with the international agreements.
“At present NIBULON has completely financed design and research work along the Dnipro and the Southern Bug Rivers in the amount of about UAH 1 mln; there has been developed technology of underwater rock excavation; an executor has been found. The total duration of work does not exceed 3 months. Due to support of the Ministry of Infrastructure, this project can be successfully implemented within the program of international projects. But there is a simpler way, namely SE “Ukrvodshlyah” can carry out works by using simplified procedure without bureaucratic red-tape and obtaining a number of licensing documents”, mentions Andriy Vasyl’ev.
NIBULON is ready to invest in excavating granite shallows on the Dnipro River involving a specialized executor. SE “Ukrvodshlayh” will control work, perform technical supervision and coordination, and also transport rocks for bank protection and renewal of beacon foundations in the territories where actions are performed. The total amount of rock removal work comprises only 20 thousand m³, the estimated cost of work to excavate granite shallows on the Dnipro River does not exceed USD 2 mln.
“The total cost of work to dredge navigable part of the Southern Bug River is USD 10 mln. We are ready to finance these work on the basis of the state and private partnership by signing an agreement foreseeing compensating mechanisms”, stressed Andriy Vasyl’ev and said that providing with definite rebates during payment of port dues by our cargo vessels could be one of such variants.
Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Dmytro Demydovych ordered Deputy Director of the Department of State Policy for Maritime and River Transport of the Ministry of Infrastructure Borys Kozyr to organize a meeting with participation of SE “Ukrwodshlyah”, Ukrainian Marine and River Inspection, Mykolayiv Regional State Administration, Antimonopoly Committee and NIBULON next week.
“It is necessary to finish searching for legal mechanism to implement this idea. Because when the private company expresses its readiness to perform this work, we must do everything to comply with its request”, said Dmytro Demydovych. According to him, the companies that perform cargo carriage must use waterways more to reduce impact on roads like NIBULON does.
We would remind you that since 2009 NIBULON has constructed 7 river transshipment terminals along the Dnipro and the Southern Bug Rivers. The total cost of investment exceeds USD 140 mln. Besides, there has been built cargo fleet that numbers 36 units with total displacement of above 134 thousand tons, and construction of the floating crane is in the final stage. Within the next few days the floating crane will be delivered to the customer.
Last year the company transported by water and transshipped 1.3 mln tons of grain, since 2008 trucking has been reduced in 2.5 times.
Dredging will provide safe navigation along the Dnipro River to the vessels with displacement of up to 5 thousand tons at guaranteed depth of up to 3.65 m from Kherson to Kyiv and to Belarus. Only NIBULON is ready to transport up to 3 mln tons of grain annually releasing highways from carriage of considerable volumes of bulk cargoes. Besides, new opportunities for container carriage by water will be opened. This will increase the amount of transit grain carriage from Belarus to the Black Sea Basin. Recovery of river transportation will allow to revive shipbuilding and closely-related sectors and must become a powerful stimulus for the industry development of Mykolayiv region, for activation of operation of granite quarries and other companies of the construction sector, for revival of passenger navigation.
President and Prime Minister of Ukraine approved our initiatives to revive the Dnipro and the Southern Bug Rivers as main transport waterways; the appropriate governmental orders were given to the State Agency for Investment and National Projects of Ukraine. The project was supported by the authorities of Kyiv, Poltava, Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, and also Mykolayiv Regional State Administrations.
When reviving the Dnipro and the Southern Bug Rivers as transport waterways we solve a task of national standing.