Ukraine has promised the International Monetary Fund that it will privatize PJSC Odesa Portside Plant (OPP) a major producer of ammonia and urea in Odessa region, by July 2021.

This is stated in the draft memorandum that was submitted to the International Monetary Fund’s board of directors for consideration:

The State Property Fund (SPF) will initiate tenders for sale of at least two major State enterprises by the end of December 2020 if market conditions permit and at least three more by the end of June 2021.

The board of directors of the International Monetary Fund approved a new loan program for Ukraine on June 9. The first loan tranche under the program will amount to $2.1 billion.

In the spring of 2018, the State Property Fund already tried to sell the OPP for $54 million, which was 15 times lower than five years before (in 2015, the starting price of the enterprise was more than $0.5 billion, and in 2013 it was even more than $800 million).

OPP is a leading Ukrainian nitrogen fertilizer producer and transshipment company benefiting from its advantageous location on the Black Sea coastline. The company was established in 1974 as a part of a USSR-wide program of fertilizer plant construction.

OPP accounts for 23 percent of urea and 18 percent of ammonia production capacity in Ukraine, making it the largest producer of urea in the country and the second largest producer of ammonia. The only port facility capable of shipping ammonia in Ukraine with transshipment capacity of 4.0 mtpa in addition to urea transshipment capacity of 3.6 mtpa and methanol transshipment capacity of 1.0 mtpa. OPP used to export to over 30 countries worldwide, including EU countries and the USA.

OPP used to be the largest producer of ammonia and urea in Soviet Union. It is still the biggest terminal for transshipment of ammonia to marine vessel on the Black Sea. The Ukrainian State owns 99.6 percent of OPP shares.

(The Odessa Journal)