Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed a bill on inland water transport in the second reading during its session on Dec. 3. The document defines the legal, economic and organizational basis for regulation of inland water transport and brings Ukrainian legislation in this field up to European Union requirements.
The bill received 276 votes from lawmakers and needed 226 to pass. Now it must be signed by the president in order to become law.
It will launch the reform of river transportation in Ukraine, according to Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Kryklii.
According to Kryklii, this law will increase freight traffic from 12 to 30 million tons per year by 2025 and generate an extra $460-565 million in economic activity.
He adds that, currently, the Dnipro River is used at only 10% of its capacity, while the law will allow to use the river in full.
Additionally, the law envisages the creation of a state fund for the development of inland waterways for allocating money to the maintenance of waterways and their infrastructure.
The law will also allow the movement of foreign ships in the Dnipro River. That, in turn, will lead to an increase in international trade. Moreover, it will introduce free passage through locks and a partial exemption of inland waterway vessels from fees in seaports.
Moreover, the law will help to develop the E-40 waterway between Ukraine and Belarus, which can increase the amount of cargo by 7 million tons per year.
“In addition, the law is expected to improve competition on the market, increase investment through equal conditions and transparent rules and create new jobs for people. The transfer of part of the cargo from highways to the river will help significantly unload the road traffic and reduce the cost of road repairs,” Kryklii says.
According to Kryklii, for each 1 million tons of cargo carried on the river, Ukraine can save Hr 1 billion ($35 million) in road repairs.
The European Union welcomed the adoption of the law.
“The law should provide a stable legal framework and pave the way to attract more investments. Sustainable transport is a key part of the EU Green Deal,” the press service of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine wrote on Twitter.
However, Oleksii Vadaturskyi, owner of one of the largest river transportation companies, Nibulon Holding, criticized some provisions of the law, including the admission of foreign ships to inland river transportation and regulations allowing ships to dispose of wastewater. He believes that this law will have a negative effect on ecology and can destroy Ukrainian shipbuilding.
The lawmakers who sponsored the bill disagree.
“Those companies that currently hold a monopoly position on the river and consider it their own are not the most interested in passing this bill. If there is a market, the cost of services will be competitive,” Artem Kovalev, one of the authors of the draft law on inland water transport, said in an interview to UNIAN news agency.
He added that a vessel can either discharge treated water into the river if it has a certified treatment system or can discharge it in ports.
