Ukraine to privatize one of nation's largest chemical plants
The Ukrainian government is launching the sale of the Odesa Portside Plant (OPZ), one of the nation's largest chemical-industrial enterprises, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko announced on Aug. 26.
OPZ, located in the town of Yuzhne in Odesa Oblast, is a major producer of ammonia and urea. Since February 2022, the plant has only operated in non-core areas, producing oxygen and nitrogen and handling grain transport.
The government on Aug. 26 decided to privatize the state-owned company, which will be put up for an open electronic auction with a starting price of Hr 4.5 billion (around $108 million), Svyrydenko said.
Operations at OPZ have been partially suspended since Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in part due to the risk of missile strikes on ammonia storage facilities. Prior to the outbreak of the full-scale war, the factory was one of the largest chemical plants in the country, producing ammonia and urea and exporting fertilizers.
"The enterprise must resume full-scale operations. This is only possible through the involvement of a private owner and investments," Svyrydenko said.
"The sale of the Odesa Portside Plant will allow the budget to be replenished, new jobs to be created, and Ukrainian farmers to be provided with access to domestic fertilizers."
OPZ has been slated for privatization since at least 2009. It was named the benchmark case of large-scale privatization after the EuroMaidan Revolution, but three attempts to sell OPZ have failed.
The plant has also been the center of a number of corruption scandals. In May 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) ordered the detention (in absentia) of a former acting СEO of OPZ, Mykola Parsentyev due to his alleged involvement in a scheme to steal millions of dollars from the plant.
