Yuzhny port ranks second in terms of freight transshipment among Ukrainian ports / Photo from wikimedia.org
The Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry has signed a memorandum of intention with U.S.-based Cargill, which is to invest $130 million in building a grain terminal at the port of Yuzhny in Odesa region.
The document was signed by Cargill CEO Martin Schuldt, Chairman of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority Andriy Amelin and Director of M.V. Cargo stevedoring company Oleksandr Prymak, the ministry's press service said.
In keeping with the memorandum, Cargill's intention is to acquire 51% in the transshipment terminal, which will be built by M.V. Cargo at Yuzhny seaport. The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority in turn undertook to establish water area on the way to the terminal with an appropriate level of dredging. Though, as the ministry's representatives said, the schedule for this type of work is not specified in the memorandum.
"Ukraine's agriculture has great potential and will tend to grow in future. Cargill needs additional infrastructure to be able to handle more freight. The construction of the terminal at Yuzhny port will let us send up to 70% of our Ukrainian grain freight for export from there," the ministry's press service quoted Schuldt as saying.
The terminal will allow Cargill to handle grains, cereals and other goods. The capacity of the facility at the first phase of construction will be up to 5 million tonnes with further increase by another 2-4 million tonnes.
The signing of the memorandum will be followed by joint work on a cooperation agreement, which is to specify the timeframe and technical parameters of the project and outline the liabilities of the parties to the agreement. The document will be signed after Cargill enters M.V. Cargo's capital through signing a shareholder's agreement.
The commissioning of the terminal is preliminarily scheduled for 2017.