On Tuesday, Yushchenko cancelled a government order to sell the Odessa Port plant, which has a starting price of almost $600 million, saying it was in the national interest to keep the pipeline in state hands. “Are we privatizing the pipelines or the factory? If it is the factory, I have no objections,” Yushchenko told journalists. “I am for privatization, but for the second time I am asking you — do not privatize pipelines. This is not a conflict within the system of privatization, this is a state interest.”
Ukraine tried to privatize the Odessa Port plant last year, but was stopped by Yushchenko, who said that inclusion of a chemicals export terminal in the sale would enable the buyer to gain a monopoly, which could be used to raise export prices for other producers of chemicals. (Reuters)
