The Chinese plan to build an industrial park in Chernihiv
7 August 21:54
On August 4, the City Military Administration granted permission to develop a land-use plan for the creation of an industrial park in Chernihiv. The project covers approximately 25 hectares on Ivan Mazepa Street for “the placement and operation of main, auxiliary, and supporting structures for enterprises in the processing, machine-building, and other industries, including waste treatment facilities, including one with a power-generating unit,” reports "Komersant Ukrainian", citing Suspilne.
The corresponding order, signed by the head of the Municipal Administration, Dmytro Bryzhynskyi, was published on his Telegram channel by City Council member and head of the “Ridnyi Dim” faction, Oleksandr Lomako.
As Lomako noted, this involves “thousands of new jobs, significant international investments, modern production facilities, and additional revenue for the city budget.”
In a comment to Suspilne, the press service of the Chernihiv City Council clarified:
“We were approached by the city council’s municipal enterprise ‘Chernihivbudinvest’ with a request to grant permission to develop a land-use planning project. This order pertains specifically to this issue; there is no mention of land here. The City Administration has not allocated any land to anyone. The creation of industrial parks falls under the authority of the city council.”
As a reminder, the issue of the industrial park was initially submitted for consideration at the 49th session of the Chernihiv City Council, but was withdrawn from consideration during the session itself on August 4. As Vasyl Dmytrenko, head of the Land Resources Department, stated at the time, permission to establish a land plot will be granted by an order of the city military administration.
What is known about the plans to create an industrial park in Chernihiv
On the eve of the 49th session of the Chernihiv City Council, Oleksandr Lomako, head of the “Ridny Dim” faction, posted on his Facebookpage that a draft resolution would be submitted to the session regarding permission to develop a land-use plan for a plot of land with an approximate area of 25 hectares for the creation of an industrial park. He noted that the initiator is “SIHE UKRAINE” Wood Processing Plant LLC. According to data from the YouControl analytical system, its founders are “Shanghai Siche” LLC, registered in China, and Joseph Chen, a U.S. citizen. The ultimate beneficiary is Zhang Gumo, a Chinese citizen. It is known that the company manufactures parquet flooring and has been operating in Chernihiv for the past several years. According to Lomak, on July 3, the plant’s owner presented this project to the city council.
“They, along with their lawyers, gathered people at the city council. These were the leaders of the political factions and the city council leadership. This is not a new issue. It has been under discussion for over two months. It is listed as an additional item on the agenda. I know that just yesterday and today, lawyers from the military administration and the city council were deciding whose authority this falls under. My position is very simple. If this is within Bryzhynsky’s authority—let him sign it. And the process should begin. And I have a question: why hasn’t this been done yet, after a month? If this falls under the city council’s authority, we must definitely support it,” Oleksandr Lomako told Suspilne before the session began.
The industrial park is planned to be built on the site of the former “Khimvolokno” enterprise.
“A long, long time ago, there was a garden there. And in 2005 or 2002, they transferred this land—this garden, which the enterprise no longer needed—to the city as reserve land. That’s why there’s nothing there now,” Lomako explained.
According to Oleksandr Lomako, the project envisages the creation of a complete production chain—from the deep processing of raw materials to finished construction materials and furniture—as well as the development of related industries: glass, hardware, packaging, and green energy. The plan is to attract international investment from China, the U.S., Germany, and Belgium totaling up to $200 million. The expected annual production volume is projected to exceed $400 million.
“We have a significant amount of raw material—wood—in the region. It is currently being sawn at sawmills and, in some form, shipped to other regions or abroad. If it stays here and is processed further into parquet flooring, as is currently the case, or into furniture and other wood products, even more money will remain in the region. And six to ten thousand jobs—I understand that this means the return of Chernihiv residents, and I understand that it could also attract internally displaced persons. They will consider training these people—this is technical education—as well as housing and social infrastructure. “These are nothing but benefits for the city,” the deputy noted.
Regarding the fact that this is an investment from China, Lomako said the following:
“What’s important to me is that this is a Ukrainian company, registered in the city of Chernihiv, which has been operating in Chernihiv for six years, pays taxes to the local budget, and pays wages to our people. Last year, they paid 344 million hryvnias in income tax for the previous year. And, of course, with the expansion of production, there will be more personal income tax and other taxes as well. The fact that the owner of this company is a Chinese citizen—excuse me—China is Ukraine’s No. 1 trading partner today.”
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