A logistical hub and dry port to export grain, named the Horonda Platform, will be created in the western Zakarpattia Oblast, the regional administration said on Nov. 16.
The Horonda Platform will be constructed partially using funding from Italian investors and will create over 200 jobs.
"This project is especially important in war conditions," said Zakarpattia Oblast governor Viktor Mykyta.
Before the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the vast majority of grain shipped out of Ukraine was shipped out of ports on the Black Sea.
After Russia unilaterally withdrew from the Black Sea Grain initiative in July 2023, which allowed ships to transport grain out of Ukrainian ports, the transit of grain has significantly slowed.
Ukraine opened a humanitarian corridor in August to allow some traffic to continue, but it is a fraction of the pre-war total. As a result, overland routes have become increasingly important.
The planned Horonda Platform will include storage facilities for grain and oil, multi-gauge railway tracks, and other terminal services, according to the project's website.
Situated less than 30 kilometers from both the border with Hungary and Slovakia, it will be "the largest European-Ukrainian intermodal logistics center and dry port in Transcarpatia."
Mykyta said that it will be an important opportunity for regional economic development, as well as increasing the transport and logistics ties with neighboring countries.
Construction of the first stage of the Horonda Platform, the intermodal port, will begin in 2024, with the project aiming to be fully completed by 2030.
Dominic Culverwell
