August 2020 – On 20 August 2020, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, the Qatari port operator QTerminals WLL and its Ukrainian subsidiary QTerminals Olvia, in the presence of the Minister of Transport and Communications of the State of Qatar, HE Jassim Al Sulaiti, and the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine, HE Vladysav Kryklii, signed the agreement for the 35-year concession of Olvia port.

Under the concession agreement, the concessionaire has the exclusive right to operate, manage and develop the Olvia port during the next 35 years. In addition to regular concession payments, under the terms of the agreement the concessionaire will invest up to USD 120 million in the modernisation and development of Olvia port and will contribute an additional USD 2.9 million for the development of the local infrastructure. This makes the project the largest concession ever awarded in Ukraine, the largest investment in Ukraine’s port sector, and the second-largest foreign investment in Ukraine since the privatisation of the Kryvorizhstal steel mill in 2005.   

The concession of Olvia port is a pilot concession project prepared by the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine with the assistance of the EBRD and the IFC following international best practice.

Kinstellar’s Kyiv office assisted QTerminals on Ukrainian law matters from the start of the project, representing the company during the tender process and the negotiations of the concession agreement through to its successful closing.

"This is the first concession project of such scale in Ukraine. We are very pleased to work with Kinstellar’s team and are thankful for their valuable contribution and efforts to make this deal happen,” said Neville Bissett, CEO of QTerminals WLL.

“The successful and transparent concession tender and execution of the Olvia port concession agreement, together with the most recent legislative changes in Ukraine, send a positive signal to market players willing to do business in the Ukrainian infrastructure sector and participate in upcoming concessions and other PPP projects,” explains Oleg Matiusha, Counsel at Kinstellar’s Kyiv office.

Kinstellar’s team advising QTerminals LLC was led by Oleg Matiusha (Counsel, Head of Real Estate, Construction and Infrastructure in Kyiv) and included Iryna Nikolayevska (Partner, Head of Corporate/M&A), Andriy Nikiforov (Counsel, Head of Banking and Finance), Danylo Volkovetskyi (Senior Associate, General Commercial, Corporate), Viktoriia Dobrynska (Senior Associate, Corporate), Daryna Ushchapivska (Associate, Competition), Julia Palaida (Associate, Regulatory, Environmental Compliance), Yulia Eismont (Associate, IP), Oleksandr Plachynta (Associate, Dispute Resolution).

For more information please contact Oleg Matiusha, Counsel at oleg.matiusha@kinstellar.com.