Photo from UNIAN
Ukraine has 4,000 km of potential inland waterways, while actually using less than 10% of the river transport capacity.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Kryklii says the passing by Ukraine's parliament of the bill on inland water transport will increase the volume of annual cargo traffic to 30 million tonnes within three to five years, bringing UAH 13 billion–UAH 16 billion (US$481.5 billion–US$592.6 billion) per year.
"First, we expect that freight traffic grow from the current 12 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes a year after the [draft] law is implemented. That is, 2020 will be a preparatory year, but we'll see a more rapid growth over the next two years," he said during an online press conference with Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, Ambassador Matti Maasikas on May 27.
"Secondly, the development of shipbuilding will help create new jobs and attract Ukrainian and foreign investment. Thirdly, the law will help reduce traffic on roads since transporting 1 million tonnes of goods via inland waterways in four years will reduce the cost of road repairs by UAH 1 billion [US$37 million] as a pair of barges and a tug are able to transport as much cargo as 250 trucks," he said.
The minister also stressed that Ukraine has 4,000 km of potential inland waterways, while actually using less than 10% of the river transport capacity.
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"The adoption of the law on inland water transport will contribute to expanding access to the transport market and liberalizing the inland water transport market, improving the integration of the latter in the national and global network of companies in the supply chain. This will also facilitate the creation of appropriate conditions for private investment in the reconstruction and construction of river port facilities, regulating inland water transport, using vessels, rivers and their fairways, ensuring the clear legal status of river ports and terminals, and inland water transport infrastructure," he added.
In turn, Matti Maasikas said that the Ukrainian river network has the potential to become the basis of the upgraded transport system. However, he added, reforms are needed to this end, and the adoption of a new law would be the first step toward this goal.
According to Maasikas, the European Commission in January 2019 launched the project related to promoting the transport development of the Dnipro River to support the Ukrainian authorities in reforming the inland waterways. Now assistance is being provided in the development of a new law on inland water transport and by-laws, as well as in training and building-up the capacity of various state bodies to fulfill their functions related to inland water transport, which are required for the sector to operate at a proper level.
Maasikas stressed that once legislation is adopted, Ukraine will receive more investment from Europe.
As UNIAN reported earlier, in 2019, the volume of transportation along the Dnipro River increased by 19% from 2018, to 11.8 million tonnes.