The World Bank has estimated that Ukraine’s reconstruction will require at least 500 billion euros, while Ukraine’s official institutions suggest the figure could be twice as high. The question of how to help Ukraine recover was also discussed by Ukrainian and Ventspils entrepreneurs during an off-site session of Ukraine’s Transport Infrastructure Development Committee, held in Ventspils at the end of August, noted Jānis Pauls, Chairman of AS Baltijas Ekspresis.
The conference was organized by the Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (USPP), in cooperation with the Baltic Association – Transport and Logistics (BATL) and the Ventspils Port Authority, under the framework of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI). Discussions focused both on uniting efforts to establish a Northern Transport Corridor and on how businesses operating in Ventspils port could help Ukraine organize its ports and railway operations in line with European Union standards.
“Entrepreneurs have agreed on what needs to be done so that, once the war ends, they can take part in Ukraine’s reconstruction program. This will have a major positive impact on the economy of all Europe, including Latvia. For our ports, this will bring significant economic benefits. The scope of work is so vast that there will be enough for everyone. We were assured during a meeting at the Ukrainian Embassy that European countries are preparing for Ukraine’s reconstruction and drafting cooperation programs,” said Pauls.
The head of Baltijas Ekspresis also highlighted the importance of the presence of a representative from Mercuria, one of the world’s largest and most influential commodity traders, at the meeting. Useful consultations were held with both sides. Mercuria is one of the world’s leading independent energy and commodity trading companies, operating in more than 50 countries across five continents.
One of the session’s topics was the transformation of Ukraine’s wagon repair companies
from state-managed entities into market-efficient public-private partnership (PPP) companies. The national railway operator, JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, has 26 wagon repair facilities, only one of which is currently leased to a private company. As noted at the conference, all of these enterprises are loss-making and none has shown annual profits. Equipment, machinery, and repair tools are 99% depreciated, and the workshops are in critical condition. Therefore, recommendations and assistance from Ventspils port companies in developing PPP mechanisms, as well as consultations on various business-related matters, are of great importance.
“Baltijas Ekspresis, with its European experience, will help Ukraine organize both port and railway operations according to European Union principles,” Pauls emphasized.
He also pointed out that sharing experiences with Ukrainian entrepreneurs is particularly valuable, as it provides an opportunity to organize work by learning from Latvia’s mistakes and avoiding them in the future, while also
drawing on the positive practices of companies operating in Ventspils port.
“The first steps in transforming a port into an infrastructure and investment hub that integrates logistics, industry, energy, and innovation are currently being taken by the port of Chornomorsk, whose development model is based on public-private partnerships. Here, too, we see wide opportunities for cooperation and are ready to assist Ukrainians with consultations in developing a new strategy,” Pauls said.
The importance of active private sector involvement in achieving 3SI goals was also discussed earlier this year at the Three Seas Summit and Business Forum in Poland. This spring, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Ukraine’s Transport Infrastructure Development Committee co-founder, the Ukrainian Railway Operators Association, and BATL on cooperation within the 3SI framework, with the aim of creating an integrated transport corridor linking Baltic Sea ports with Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
The off-site session of the Transport Infrastructure Development Committee held in Ventspils in August was a continuation of this agreed cooperation, and another delegation of Ukrainian entrepreneurs is expected in Ventspils in mid-September for consultations at the management level. “We are already working on several projects. This will be a valuable exchange of experience and consultations,” Pauls added.
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