Ukraine is revitalizing the Bastroe Canal as an alternative route for Ukrainian agricultural exports, according to a statement posted today

After grain transport by land was blocked by several neighboring states, and transport on the Black Sea is at risk due to disagreements over the extension of the agreement mediated by Turkey and the United Nations, Ukraine is looking to increase the transport capacity on the Danube.

The ports on the Danube are essential for Ukrainian exports of agricultural products, a high-ranking Ukrainian official said on Friday.

“Undoubtedly, the Danube area has become a critical element of global food security in the face of the limited operation of the Black Sea seaports (…) In this way, we are revitalizing the Bâstroe canal as an alternative route for Ukrainian agricultural exports”, it is stated in a press release issued by the Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine.

Ukraine hopes that a deepening of the Bâstroe channel would lead to an increase of 500,000 tons of grain per month.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said, accordingly Reutersthat excavation work at the canal is “operational” and that Ukraine is “reviving the Bâstroe canal as an alternative route for Ukrainian agricultural exports”.

The statements come after Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov met with a delegation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) led by the president of the bank, Odile Renaud-Basso.

“The conversation focused on the implementation of joint reconstruction projects and the opportunities to expand cooperation in the development of the “Danube Port Cluster. We see the perspective of cooperation regarding the development of the Danube Port Cluster. We started our activity last year. Royal HaskoningDHV, an international engineering consulting firm, has developed a list of measures to increase the capacity of the Danube ports, as part of a joint pilot project between the ministry and the EBRD, which covers investments, operational and regulatory changes in Ukraine, Moldova and Romania”, it is specified in a press release issued by the Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine.

The document and Oleksandr Kubrakov’s statements come while Romania is waiting for the results of the measurements made on the Bâstroe Canal. Measurements to determine if the work on it produced negative effects on the arm and the Delta in the assembly.

The Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu, stated today, referring to the measurements on the Bâstroe Canal, that on April 18 he sent a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) to discuss with the Ukrainian authorities the transfer of the data of the measurements made by Ukrainian experts to the Romanian authorities .

“They have to send us the raw data to them as well. If they want the interpretation that we did on our sector, we have no problem sending that interpretation as well. It’s just that at this moment or at the moment when we receive these data from the Ministry of Transport – and not necessarily the ministry, but the AFDJ – they will be interpreted, they will be presented, I think that other structures of the Romanian state, that we are talking about the Ministry of the Environment or that we are talking about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, depending on these data, to also present some conclusions. We can only interpret these data dryly. The AFDJ should carefully interpret these data that I hope we will receive in the next period through the MAE from colleagues in Ukraine. (…) It is normal to keep this dialogue with the Ukrainians and try to present the whole data. That we are talking about Chilia up to kilometer 22, from 11 to 22 they measured, after which they entered the Solomonov arm and Bâstroe, I don’t think it’s right, let’s present it as a unitary whole”, said the Minister of Transport .