USAID will help develop Ukrainian ports on the Danube
28.07.2023 - 16:50
The project of the USAID Agency “Economic Support of Ukraine” will support export infrastructure development projects of Ukraine.
On July 27, the Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov and the director of the project of the USAID Agency “Economic Support of Ukraine” (USAID ERA) Timothy Madigan signed the Memorandum on cooperation between the Ministry and the project.
It provides for the participation of USAID ERA in projects to increase Ukraine’s export potential, in particular through the development of export logistics infrastructure. American partners will also provide support to Ukraine in rebuilding the critical infrastructure of certain communities.
Oleksandr Kubrakov noted that Russia’s withdrawal from the Grain Initiative and its attempts to establish a trade blockade in the Black Sea force Ukraine and the international community to look for new logistical solutions for Ukrainian exports.
Cooperation with USAID will allow Ukraine to speed up a number of logistics development projects on the western borders and on the Danube. Time is key here, because how quickly and successfully we will be able to amortize the damage caused by Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports depends on how acute the global food crisis will be, the minister added.
It is assumed that USAID ERA will also contribute to the attraction of additional funding from international financial organizations for logistics recovery and development projects.
Also, within the framework of the meeting, the Maritime Ports Administration of Ukraine and the Reniya Sea Trade Port concluded a Memorandum of Cooperation with the USAID ERA project.
The United States will support projects that increase Ukrainian exports, including those aimed at providing Ukrainian seaports with the fleet, equipment and infrastructure necessary to increase cargo handling in Ukrainian ports.
Special emphasis will be placed on increasing the export potential of the Danube ports, in particular the port of Reni.
The USAID project “Economic Support of Ukraine” was created in 2018 to strengthen the economy of Ukraine, which suffered as a result of the Russian invasion. The project, in particular, supports:
• relocated enterprises and internally displaced persons (IDPs);
• Ukrainian agricultural production and agricultural export;
• local institutions in the recently liberated territories of Ukraine.
The total amount of project financing is 130 million dollars.
