The Ukrainian Sea Port Authority has drawn up a plan of top priority actions for 2017, the key of which are modernization and development of port infrastructure, attraction of investment, improvement of the sector legislation, provision of equal conditions for doing business at seaports and the change of the corporate management system, Authority Head Raivis Veckagans said at the presentation of top priority plans of the authority for 2017 in Kyiv on Thursday.
"Today our marine sector is slightly behind the rivals in the region. We need to develop infrastructure, attract investment and increase effectiveness of operation of the Ukrainian Sea Port Authority, and not the things we focused earlier on. This year we should start preparing for the change of the management system of the authority. This will be the next stage of the ministry's steps on corporate changes at Boryspil airport, Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukrposhta. With this short-term plan we start working on another strategic document – the updated sector development strategy until 2038," Deputy Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Nadia Kaznacheyeva said.
Veckagans said that at present the authority has 12 key infrastructure initiatives.
In the issue of creating competitive conditions for doing business at ports the managers of the authority see two key directions – maintenance of depths at the approaches and water areas of the ports and the revision of the dividing balance sheets between the authority and state-run port operators.
It is also planned to apply FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) supervision standards in construction of port infrastructure. This would allow foreign dredging companies to enter the Ukrainian market and investor companies to be confident in complete transparency of tenders.
Large attention will be paid to the preparations for the audit by International Maritime Organization (IMO) and providing for navigation safety.
