The Ukrainian government announced Monday a 20-billion-euro (24.4-billion-U.S.-dollar) investment plan to upgrade the country`s seaports from 2012 to 2022, according to Xinhua.
"Due to the growth of the economy, the sea-borne freight turnover is increasing. As a consequence, local ports need upgrading," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Borys Kolesnikov said.
The project includes equipment purchases and engineering work in the ports, Kolesnikov said.
Speaking about ports equipment purchases, Kolesnikov said the orders for them must be placed mainly at domestic plants to support local producers.
Increased capacity of ports will contribute to Ukraine`s trade growth, he said.
According to the Infrastructure Ministry, the sea-borne freight turnover of 18 Ukrainian ports increased by 5.6 percent year-on-year to 113.7 million tons in 2011.
