Belgorod-Dniester Port plans to launch a ferry to Georgia

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi seaport has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Georgian company Batumi International Container Terminals LLC (BICT).

According to the port's director Oksana Kiktenko, the cooperation will see the launch of a ferry to Batumi.

According to her, the purpose of the memorandum is to attract cargo traffic through the Middle Corridor by expanding cargo handling capabilities.

This is the second memorandum of cooperation signed by the Belgorod-Dniester Port on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TICT), or the Middle Corridor.

BICT operates and manages container, ferry and general terminals in the seaport of Batumi, Georgia. The port administration plans to turn the port of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi into the largest TMT hub on the European side of the route.

In December 2024, the State Property Fund entered into a preliminary agreement for the sale and purchase of the unified property complex of the State Enterprise "Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Commercial Sea Port" with Top-Offer LLC, owned by former MP Volodymyr Prodyvus.

Top-Offer, which won the auction on November 7, transferred UAH 108 million to the account of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) at the last minute. This company was supposed to deposit the funds by December 5, but the situation was complicated by the change of its beneficiary.

On November 28, businessman Volodymyr Prodyvus, formerly a member of the Party of Regions and head of the Ukrainian Boxing Federation, became the new owner of Top Offer. Because of this, the deal is now undergoing additional scrutiny, including an analysis of the origin of the money. According to Maxim Ravchak, a representative of the SPFU, there is a risk that the sale agreement may be canceled. The deadline for signing the agreement is December 12.

In November, the State Property Fund finally managed to sell the only property complex of the State Enterprise "Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Commercial Sea Port" at a privatization auction. The only participant in the electronic auction was TOP-Offer LLC, which was formed in December 2023. At that time, its owner was Yevhen Boguslavsky from Kyiv. The company offered the fund UAH 108 million 120 thousand at a starting price of UAH 88 million 986.2 thousand.

On March 13, 2023, the State Property Fund of Ukraine successfully held an auction for the sale of the State Enterprise "Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Commercial Sea Port". The highest price of UAH 220.01 million was offered by Ukrdoninvest LLC, which belonged to Vitaliy Kropachov's Ukrdoninvest financial group, specializing in the energy sector, including coal mining and processing.

Кирило Бойко