The sale of the Odessa Port Plant has been canceled again due to a lack of buyers

The privatization auction for the sale of the Odesa Port Plant was once again canceled. The reason was a lack of bids from potential buyers. 

This was reported by Dmytro Natalukha, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development.

According to him, foreign investors refrained from participating due to political uncertainty ahead of the U.S. elections.

“Let’s wait until November 3” (the date of the U.S. midterm elections)—this is the phrase I’ve heard most often over the past 2–3 days from American companies that had previously sent letters in which they "guaranteed to participate in the auction and bid the starting price," he wrote on social media. 

Natalukha also noted that currently, about 62 million hryvnias are being spent each month on the mothballed enterprise. At the same time, he said, the government has no idea when the sea will open up and the plant will be able to sustain itself, at least through transshipment.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the terms for the large-scale privatization of the Odesa Port Plant in July. The main goal is to attract a strategic investor who will ensure the resumption of operations at one of Ukraine’s largest chemical plants.

The government has set a number of mandatory requirements for a potential buyer. In particular, the new owner must invest at least 500 million hryvnias in modernizing production and improving its energy efficiency. The new owner must also preserve the enterprise’s core business activities.

Юлія Калабайда