The Infrastructure Ministry has approved the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company’s $200 million investment project to build tugboats, barges and fleet maintenance facilities, the company announced.
The project is aimed at improving the infrastructure for cargo transport on the Dnipro River that flows through Ukraine.
Following the ministry’s approval, the Ukrainian shipping company can now start arranging loan agreements with international financial institutions.
The company plans to build 16 pusher tugs with hybrid diesel engines, 31 Europe-2 class barges and five locations for fleet maintenance.
The company reported that the Dnipro Transportation project aims to revive the E40 Waterway and use the full transit potential of the Dnipro River.
“(This) will reduce the load on Ukrainian roads and railroads, create business possibilities for the shipbuilding industry, and reduce air pollution,” the Danube Navigation Company writes.
The E40 Waterway is a more than 2,000-kilometer river route aiming to connect the Black and Baltic seas, effectively linking Ukraine and Poland via Belarus. It consists of six rivers and canals, including the Dnipro River.
The completion of the E40 Waterway would enable the transport of goods to Europe, Africa, and Asia and could add seven million tons of additional cargo shipped on Dnipro annually, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure.
The project has been under discussion since 1996. The biggest obstacle is its high cost, which is estimated to be more than $13 billion, according to experts.
In December 2020, the Ukrainian government adopted a simplified law on inland water transport, allowing Ukraine to keep dredging its segment of the E40 route, with the aim of enabling multipurpose ships to navigate the river.
The Ukrainian portion of the three-country route is presently the most navigable, but Belarus and Poland are also investing in the development of their respective sections.
The PJSC Ukrainian Danube Shipping company was founded in 1944 and is one of the largest shipping companies in Ukraine.
The company has a sea and river fleet. The convenient location of its Izmail base port makes it a special transportation hub that promotes Ukraine’s international trade interests.
