Representatives of Cargill and MV Cargo have formalized their intention to construct grain terminal by signing a share purchase agreement legally committing the two companies and enabling the construction of the facility by MV Cargo to go ahead. The investment is worth approximately $100 million.
The agreement marks a significant milestone in the project and comes after the memorandum of cooperation Cargill and MV Cargo entered into with Ukraine’s Sea Ports Authority (USPA) on August 13, 2015, whereby the port authority agreed to dredge the water area adjacent to the future grain terminal down to 16 meters. This will enable the new terminal to handle large vessels with a deadweight of up to 100,000 metric tonnes that the new facility will attract to the port.
“We are delighted to finally be signing this agreement today, as we have been working towards this moment with our partners MV Cargo and with the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority for quite some time,” said Andreas Rickmers, head of Cargill’s grains and oilseeds business in Europe. “Through this investment, Ukraine’s port infrastructure will be expanded and will provide greater efficiencies to connect Ukraine’s surplus agricultural crops with the parts of the world demanding more food. This new port will benefit Ukrainian farmers, the overall economy and global food security. It will add to our footprint of port facilities in the Black Sea region and confirms our intention to keep investing in Ukraine’s agricultural sector.”
“This project is of key importance for Ukraine to sustain its leading position among grain exporting countries, as this deep-water state-of-the-art terminal will allow us to process vessels of high tonnage, delivering Ukrainian grain to markets all over the world. We expect the project to generate over UAH300 million (US$11.2 million) in tax payments annually and to create employment for around 350 people,” added Andrey Stavnitser on behalf of MV Cargo.
Construction of the terminal is expected to be completed by spring 2018.
