Nika Terra port to launch new urea transshipment facilities

Nika Tera specialized seaport (SSP Nika Tera, LLC), part of Group DF, is to complete the construction and launch the new urea transshipment section by the end of May 2013.

 

It was announced by Oleksandr Gaidu, Head of the Board of Nika Tera: “We plan to commission the new section by the end of May. By launching the new facilities, the port will increase the annual cargo turnover of its mineral fertilizers transshipment complex from 4 to 5.7 mln. tons”.

 

Nika Tera will implement a new technology for uploading dry fertilizers from railway transport which will enable the port to load up to 1,500 tons of urea per hour on a vessel. The port will also be able to simultaneously store around 50 thousand tons of urea.

 

According to Oleksandr Gaidu, expansion of Nika Tera’s mineral fertilizer transshipment capacities will, first of all, serve the needs of Group DF’s nitrogen fertilizer producers consolidated in OSTCHEM holding.

 

Group DF investments in this project amounted to USD 12.3 mln. The Group has provided the port with all the financial resources required to complete the construction of the new urea transshipment facilities.

 

Earlier Mr Gaidu announced the plans to complete the construction of a silo-type grain elevator with the capacity of 170 thousand tons by the end of 2013. The investments in this project will amount to circa UAH 124 million (more than USD 15 mln). Thanks to the construction of new grain silos, the combined capacity of the Nika Tera’s granaries will be increased more than fivefold – from the current 40 thousand tons to 210 thousand tons. This will allow an increase in the cargo turnover of the grain complex to 6 mln. tons per year. Availability of additional grain transshipment capacities will facilitate fertilizer producers’ cooperation with domestic farmers which purchase fertilizers and sell grain for export.

 

Therefore expansion of Nika Tera’s capacity makes other assets of the Group more competitive. For example, thanks to the reduction of transportation costs for transshipment of different freight, the farmers buying our fertilizers will be able to sell grain using the services of the port. “If we speak about relatively large transshipment volumes, long-term contracts and strategic cooperation, those clients will enjoy discounted prices. We are interested in long-term and reliable clients capable of paying for our services”, explained Oleksandr Gaidu. He also stressed that the port is a separate business of the Group oriented on generating profits.

 

NOTE

 

SSP Nika Tera, LLC is an advanced and highly mechanized port which is a part of OSTCHEM holding.

The port is located on the left bank of Bugsky estuary, 34 miles from the sea, with access to Zhovtnevaya railway station. Nika Tera has seven piers more than 1,300 r. m long, five of which are operated for commercial purposes. The port operates in three cargo districts, each one specializing in transhipment of separate freight, such as grains, mineral fertilizers and other dry bulk.

 

The company was launched in 1995 as a port terminal for transhipment of potassium fertilizers. Its original name was Mykolaiv Potassium Terminal, JSC.

Investments in Nika Tera began following its acquisition by Dmitry Firtash. In November 2011, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine allowed Group DF to acquire 100% of corporate rights of SSP Nika-Tera, LLC. As of 1 January 2013, the combined investments in the port amounted to UAH 419.7 mln.