The Coordination Council for Stimulating a Competitive Environment and Ensuring Equal Conditions for Business in Ports has begun its work under the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories.

It will work on implementing transparent rules for using port assets, improving regulatory mechanisms, and creating an effective dialogue between the state and business.

“Ukrainian seaports have considerable potential for development, even in the context of a major war. They should become important points of economic growth and investment attraction. However, there are currently significant obstacles that hinder the development of port infrastructure and reduce investment attractiveness.
The work of the Council will allow solving a number of urgent issues. One of them is land use in ports, which remains unregulated today. This prevents the development of infrastructure, attracting investments, and effectively managing state assets. I am convinced that thanks to the Council, we will be able to find the necessary solutions for urgent issues and, as a result, increase the investment attractiveness of Ukrainian ports,” said Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration - Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Oleksii Kuleba.

Today, the main areas of work of the Coordination Council are:

• Analysis of the current state of use of state port infrastructure.
• Assessment of mechanisms for allocating land plots within seaports.
• Introduction of transparent competitive procedures for access to infrastructure through the electronic public procurement system.
• Development of effective and transparent regulatory mechanisms from the state.

Oleksii Kuleba outlined a number of problems that the work of the Coordination Council should solve. Among the issues is land use in ports, which remains unregulated today.

“Uncertainty in the distribution of powers between state and local authorities complicates the registration of water fund lands under the water areas of ports. The lack of a clear mechanism for obtaining the right to permanent use of these territories leads to delays, refusals in documents and legal uncertainty. This threatens the safety of navigation, prevents the development of infrastructure, attracting investments and effective management of state assets,” emphasized Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration - Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine.

Also in the seaports of Ukraine, in particular in the port of “Pivdennyi”, there are many promising lands for the development of infrastructure, construction of terminals and warehouses. However, for decades these territories remain leased to persons who use them not for development, but for the purpose of further resale.

“This limits investments, reduces the efficiency of use of territories and the competitiveness of Ukrainian ports. To solve the problem, it is necessary to introduce transparent rules for the use of seaport lands, which will contribute to the development of strategic infrastructure and attract new investors.
No less important is the issue of transparency and procedures for providing access to port infrastructure. There have already been cases of raider seizure of enterprises with foreign investments in Ukrainian ports. For example, in one of the ports, an international company that is a major investor faced raider seizure due to legal conflicts and dishonest actions of individuals. In this regard, a number of criminal proceedings have been opened.
The situation demonstrates the need to establish a dialogue between state authorities and investors to timely eliminate legislative gaps. This especially applies to the procedure for granting enterprises the status of port operator, which requires greater transparency and clear control mechanisms.
Failure to respond to such cases may negatively affect the investment climate in the industry and undermine the trust of international partners,” said Oleksii Kuleba.

There is also a problem of illegal construction on state-owned lands, which complicates access to port infrastructure facilities for other business entities. This leads to inefficient use of state property, a decrease in port dues and a deterioration in the financial performance of enterprises. A particular risk can be seen in the example of the Odessa Port Plant. An access road is located on its territory, which is important for the entire port infrastructure. The lack of a guaranteed right to use this infrastructure threatens logistics processes and the stable operation of enterprises that depend on this transport route.

According to the Minister, transparent and fair rules in seaports, especially in conditions of full-scale invasion, are the key to attracting new investments, expanding economic opportunities and increasing the competitiveness of Ukrainian ports at the international level.

This will also avoid legal conflicts, raider attacks and contribute to the sustainable development of the port industry of Ukraine.

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