OREANDA-NEWS. February 14, 2013. Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Vilkul during his working visit to Odessa held a regional meeting on the development of infrastructure and renewal of fleet of Ukrainian ports, including harbor vessels of Yuzhny Sea Port.

"Leadership of the state gives the industry strategic tasks - to increase the competitiveness of Ukrainian ports, develop infrastructure based on international best practices. This will allow Ukraine to reach the level of advanced naval countries," Oleksandr Vilkul said.

He also noted that the result of the modernization of the Ukrainian ports is not only the growth of the transport potential. But it is - jobs and wages for thousands of workers in the sector. This is pumping up local budgets and powerful resource for local development.

"Famous world-class companies should be involved in the modernization of port infrastructure and expand their opportunities," Oleksandr Vilkul said.

Within the global economic crisis the Ukrainian ports last year managed to show stable operation. In particular, it processed more than 160 million tons of cargo, so the budget received about UAH 2 billion deductions.

One of the key activities of the action plan is the modernization program of Yuzhny Sea Port for 2012-2015 years.

"As a result of the program port Yuzhny Sea Port will be the largest among deepwater port in north-western part of the Black Sea. This will create new opportunities for the development of the transport sector in Ukraine," Oleksandr Vilkul said.