Concession for the terminal in Chornomorsk: Ukraine is working on the final model
13 May 18:02
The concession for the Port of Chornomorsk is moving to the next stage—the competitive dialogue procedure for the first and container terminals has officially begun. This was announced by Oleksiy Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery and Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“This is one of the largest infrastructure PPP projects in Ukraine and the first concession of this scale to be implemented during a full-scale war,” Kuleba wrote.
According to him, over the next 75 days, the state and potential investors will jointly work out the final concession model.
“Participants have already been granted access to the necessary information, are analyzing the assets, and are preparing their proposals for the future project,” Kuleba wrote.
According to him, an important task is to develop a balanced partnership model that takes into account the interests of the state, the community, and business.
“The project involves modernizing port infrastructure, improving terminal efficiency, preserving over 1,000 jobs, and generating long-term revenue for the state and local budgets,” Kuleba wrote.
As the Deputy Prime Minister explained, the development of concessions and public-private partnerships is currently one of the key mechanisms for the restoration and modernization of Ukraine’s infrastructure.
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Stages of concession preparation
In early April, it was reported that Ukraine had completed the pre-qualification stage and begun preparations for a dialogue with bidders for the concession of the No. 1 and container terminals at the Port of Chornomorsk, having admitted Ukrainian and international companies to the process.
In general, the terms of the tender stipulate that within three years of the concession’s commencement, the investor must achieve a minimum annual transshipment capacity of 250,000 TEU and 3 million tons of other cargo.
In exchange for the use of port infrastructure and the opportunity to provide various commercial services, the concessionaire must make payments under the concession agreement. Specifically, this includes a one-time fixed payment to compensate for project preparation costs, an annual fixed payment subject to indexation, and an annual variable payment linked to the concessionaire’s revenue.
In addition, it was specified that the concessionaire must finance the reconstruction of the overpass for an amount not exceeding $4 million (including VAT).
As reported, in September 2025, Ukraine announced its decision to hold a concession tender for the first and container terminals at the Port of Chornomorsk, which is set to become the first project of this kind in the port sector since the start of the full-scale invasion.
In October 2025, the tender commission for selecting an investor for the port of Chornomorsk engaged 12 external experts, whose candidacies were recommended by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation.
How many investors are interested in Chornomorsk
The Ministry of Development states that over 40 operators and investors have expressed interest in the project.
According to the Ministry of Development’s expectations, the project is expected to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in investments for the modernization of berths and equipment; generate over $1.1 billion in budget revenues over 40 years; preserve over 1,000 jobs with social guarantees and wage indexation; restore container traffic to 250,000 TEU annually during the first three years, and subsequent growth to pre-war levels—over half a million TEU.
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