August 12 2003, 10:23 APK-Inform

New grain shipping facility constructed in Nikolaev port

A new grain shipping facility, worth 2.7 million hryvnias ($507,000), has been constructed in Nikolaev seaport, the Head of the port Vasily Zubkov told APK-Inform.

According to Zubkov, the new facility is destined for transhipments of export and import grain. It was constructed on the port's own expenses. The port purchased for the purpose an auto-lifter, two mobile conveyor-type vessel-loaders with 400,000-tonne hourly capacity and a grain transhipment station with 250,000-tonne hourly capacity. The station will allow simultaneously unloading two railcars with subsequent transhipment of the load. Also, the capacity of one-time grain storage in the port has been increased up to 40,000 tonnes.

The management of the port intends to increase grain shipment operations up to 2.5 million tonnes per year. In the first quarter of 2003 the port processed 411,600 tonnes of grain and grain products. In 2002 the volume of processed grain cargos was 1.74 million tonnes.