EVENT

SES ASTRA launches broadband satellite Internet in Ukraine

The leading direct satellite broadcasting company SES ASTRA, a part of the SES Group, announced that it had signed a distribution agreement with Direct Connect on providing access to broadband satellite Internet ASTRA2Connect on the Ukrainian market. As the company’s press release states, with this agreement SES ASTRA has added one more country to its list, and is now providing its services in 19 European countries. The company Direct Connect is located in Odesa; it is a part of the Swiss-American consortium. “The agreement with Direct Connect is an important step in expanding the geography of ASTRA2Connect services,” the vice president and acting director general of ASTRA Broadband Services Patrick Biewer said. “Ukraine is a promising market for satellite communications, including satellite broadband networks. We believe that our entry on the Ukrainian market will have very positive results.” According to the press release, already in September 2010 Direct Connect will provide ASTRA2Connect to private and corporate users in Ukraine’s biggest agglomerations, and it will gradually expand that territory making them accessible throughout the country by the end of 2011.

Construction Lafarge opens new plant in the Kyiv region

Lafarge, an international company selling construction materials, opened a high-tech factory producing construction aggregate at the Koshchiiv quarry, Kyiv oblast, the company’s press release reports. The new plant is built near the previously unmined Koshchiiv granite field, 10 km from the district center Fastiv. The investment is over 12 million euros. The projected capacity of the plant is 900 tons of crushed stone per year, and it will employ over one hundred workers. Considerable sums were invested in new equipment from Sandvik, Atlas Copco, Volvo, and Budkrusz. According to director of Lafarge Breakstone Ukraine Oleksandr Skrypnyk, “At present the market is ‘reviving,’ this year’s construction aggregate sales already exceed those of 2007 — the company’s most successful year... We continue to believe in the potential of Ukraine and its capital region, which concentrates many players of the construction industry. Therefore, we are positive to invest into new facilities.” The Koshchiiv quarry’s graded aggregate will be supplied to concrete production plants, custom concrete producers, and companies that build and serve roads. The company aims at satisfying the demand for construction aggregate of the capital region.

Domestic ports to be developed through private investments

The Ministry of Transportation and Communication of Ukraine plans to attract private investors for major projects in the Illichivsk and Yuzhny ports. The total cost of the new projects is about 470 million dollars. An analysis of the scope and characteristics of the Mediterranean and Black Sea cruises from leading companies was conducted, showing that the port of Odesa can increase the load of its passenger terminal by attracting more cruise ships in the near future. As the press release of the Ministry reported, the preparation of the investment projects was discussed at a meeting of the supervisory board on elaborating the pre-investment feasibility study of port-development projects in Ukraine. According to the information provided to the supervisory board members, the construction of a new container and roll-on-roll-off ferry terminal in the port of Illichivsk is planned to be financed by investors. The total project costs are about 289.9 million dollars and 30.3 million dollars, respectively. At the final stage the port’s freight turnover capacity will increase by 738,000 TEU per year. There are also plans for dredging the passage channel and water areas in the port of Yuzhny. The project will expand the existing channels and upgrade the berths and turning basin: this will allow the port to accept fully loaded oil tankers and dry cargo bulk carriers. The total project cost is about 150 million dollars. According to the press release of the Ministry, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, and the International Finance Corporation already declared their willingness to allocate credit to investors in the projects proposed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communication of Ukraine. They expect a presentation of the investment projects and are accepting applications from investors to participate in them.