Kherson port left in ruins after the occupation, and the concessionaire company is sounding the alarm

After the occupation and shelling, the Kherson seaport was almost completely destroyed - equipment, buildings, boats and other property were lost. Despite repeated appeals, the government has not yet agreed with the concessionaire on a plan to restore the enterprise.

This was reported by the press service of the Kherson Port company.

The press service emphasized that Kherson Port, which took over the state-owned enterprise under concession in December 2021, has lost almost all means of production since the beginning of the full-scale war.

According to the official expert opinion of the Kyiv Chamber of Commerce and Industry of May 2024, the occupiers destroyed or stole almost all property:

• Transport, special equipment - 68 units (100% lost);
• Watercraft - 32 units (100% lost);
• Buildings and structures - 158 units (100% lost);
• Warehouse balances - 99,231 units (99.23% lost);
• Other property, plant and equipment - 1,270 items (76.5% lost);
• Gantry cranes - 14 units (100% lost);
• Fuel and lubricants, rolled metal, sand - 2,574 tons (100% lost);
• Pipes, cables, ropes - 11,905 running meters (100% lost).

According to the concessionaire, after the de-occupation in November 2022, the facility remains under constant shelling, making it impossible to restore. Part of the port - on the left bank of the Dnipro - is still under the control of the occupiers. Additional damage was caused by flooding after the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was blown up in June 2023.

Despite the catastrophic consequences, the company continues to protect the territory, provide anchorage for foreign ships, and repair utility infrastructure at its own expense.

Since 2022, Kherson Port has officially appealed to the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development more than seven times with a proposal to create a working group to prepare a recovery plan. However, the ministry has not yet even made a decision to form it.

The port of Kherson became one of the first examples of a concession partnership in Ukraine on the eve of a full-scale invasion. In December 2021, the concessionaire began modernization and approved investment plans, but the occupation, flooding after the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant explosion, and constant shelling prevented their implementation - the port now needs to be fully restored.

Анна Бальчінос