The global operator of container terminals Hutchison Ports is going to bring new quality to both sea commercial port Chornomorsk and the entire port sector of Ukraine. This was declared by Minister if Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian at the meeting with the Hutchison Ports General Manager-Finance Simon Mullett and Finance Manager-Europe James Pettifer.
As the Ministry’s Press Office advised, the assembly of Minister and the port operator’s top managers took place in the Ministry on Thursday. It was attended by Vice Minister of Infrastructure Yurii Lavreniuk, Acting President of the state enterprise Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority Raivis Veckagans, Counsellor of Minister of Infrastructure Nadiia Kaznacheeva, Acting Director of the state enterprise Serhii Sechkin, leaders of the five trade unions of the port Chornomorsk.
According to Omelian, attraction of global companies into Ukraine presents an opportunity to carry out qualitative transformations not only in the infrastructure, but to the country’s economy as well. “Hutchison Ports is a world’s major container operator, efficiently working in 52 ports of 26 countries, handling over 84M TEU per annum. Its coming into the port Chornomorsk on the quays lease conditions with further prospective concession means the modern labour conditions for the workers, up-to-date cargo handling techniques, Ukraine’s entry into the world transit states league”, stressed Minister.
Omelian pointed out that the company warranted the existing jobs kept, the new ones created, and high social guarantees for each employee, too. Reproaches about wholesale dismissals of the personnel are speculations serving the aim – to frustrate Hutchison Ports’ arrival in Ukraine. Nothing humiliates the man more than forcing him to work worse than he can. I am confident that it is Hutchison Ports who can grant new quality to the port, the port sector, and Ukraine on the whole”, stated the head of Ministry.
As Simon Mullett noted, Hutchison Ports guarantees training and upgrading of employees, as well as creation of 250 new jobs in the port Chornomorsk. Also, the chief finance manager stressed that the company is open to cooperation with all the parties concerned: shippers, forwarders, stevedores.
Omelian reminded that the State Property Fund (SPF) was preparing a tender for a lease of Berths 1-6 of Chornomorsk port. Hutchison Ports submitted bids on the land lease in the rear of Berths 1-6 and the very berths’ lease to the SPF regional office in Odessa in November 2017. “Hutchison filed the tender, but the contest is still to be held”, informed Omelian those days. Minister also stated that upon the concession law adoption the operator would be ready to consider a transition from the lease agreement to this pattern of cooperation.
In 2016 Hutchison Ports and SE Sea Commercial Port Chornomorsk signed a memorandum of understanding. The paper was signed in the course of Omelian’s visit to the UK.
Hutchison Ports (HQ – in Hong Kong SAR) is a major global box terminal operator in respect of the container throughput. It is a daughter company of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (registered on Cayman Islands) managing 52 terminals and ports in 26 countries on six continents. In 2017 the company enlarged its box throughput comparing to 2016 by 4 $ – up to 84.7M TEU.
source: https://ports.com.ua/news/hutchison-ports-prineset-novoe-kachestvo-v-ukrainu-omelyan