Poles want to take part in the privatization of the Ukrainian port in Belgorod

Polacy chcą wziąć udział w prywatyzacji ukraińskiego portu w Biełgorodzie

Poles want to take part in the privatization of the port in Belgorod-on-Dniester. This is according to a post by Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Viktor Dovgan, posted on social media – reports LIGA.net.

"Polish investments in the Black Sea may be interesting," the minister wrote on Facebook, and then confirmed to the media that Polish investors want to take part in another tender for the privatization of the port. This tender is scheduled for September 6 this year. The Ukrainian side does not disclose, and the media have not yet determined which Polish investors are currently considering buying the port in Belgorod.

Another attempt at privatization

This will be the 9th attempt to sell the state-owned company since January last year. The starting price in the tender this time is 177.97 million hryvnia. Theoretically, the port was sold in the second auction. The offer of 220 million hryvnia submitted by the domestic company "Ukrdoninvest" was accepted. However, its owner Vitaliy Kropachev did not pay on time and the transaction was invalidated. In May this year, the businessman was detained on charges of corruption and fraud to the detriment of the State Treasury in the coal sector.

With the benefit of inventory

The Belgorod Commercial Sea Port is located at the mouth of the Dniester River into the Black Sea. The port covers an area of 64.4 ha. According to Latifundist, it has 9 ships of the port fleet, 47 road transport units, 4 rail transport units, 18 cranes, 41 forklifts, 4 excavators, 3 bulldozers and a pneumatic crane.

It is worth noting, however, that the port became unprofitable starting in 2019, and after the outbreak of the war with Russia, it only served as a so-called dry transshipment port. The buyer of the company will have to pay off the company's liabilities and debts due to unpaid taxes and employee salaries. As of September 2022, this amounted to over 104 million hryvnias (12.6 million PLN).