Ukraine has officially opened a concession tender for the Universal and Grain Terminals at the Port of Chornomorsk in Odesa Region, reported London's Lexology.

The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development issued Order No. 1793 in December 2025, launching a competitive dialogue for two operating terminals covering six berths, engineering networks, roads, rail tracks and other assets.

About 3,700 port assets will be transferred to the concessionaire across a 78-hectare area with a berth length of 1.2 km and transshipment capacity of 37.5 million tonnes per year.

The concession term is 40 years, with payments including a one-off reimbursement of EUR1.312 million, fixed and variable fees. Obligations include handling 250,000 TEU annually and three million tonnes of other cargo. Risks are allocated between the concessionaire, public partner and shared categories such as force majeure or damage caused by the aggressor state.

Eligible bidders are Ukrainian or foreign legal entities, individually or in consortiums, with or without a Special Purpose Vehicle. Technical qualifications require five years of container port operations with throughput of 180,000 TEU, commercial port management experience and construction projects worth at least US$50 million. Financial requirements include equity of $50 million and proof of funding sources.

The pre-qualification deadline is March 4. The tender is conducted under Ukraine's updated concession and public-private partnership laws.