Even Firtash’s debts scare potential buyers of Odesa Portside Plant less than its location in Odesa region — Natalukha

The main factor deterring potential investors from purchasing the Odesa Portside Plant (OPP) remains wartime risk, said the newly appointed Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, Dmytro Natalukha, in an interview with Forbes.

According to him, even the plant’s debt obligations to Dmytro Firtash totaling about USD 193 million concern investors less than its location in Odesa region, which remains under constant threat of Russia's attacks.

Additional deterrents include certain environmental issues with potential risks. At the same time, Natalukha described OPP as an “iconic” but complex asset.

The option of postponing the sale until the security situation stabilizes is also being discussed. However, the head of the Fund noted that such an approach carries its own risks.

Following the scandal involving the former head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, who is currently on an international wanted list in cases related to OPP, further delays in privatization could fuel new suspicions about the motives for keeping the asset in state ownership.

Natalukha emphasized that assets such as OPP require a strategic investor.

“For assets like OPP, there will be more strategic players. It is important to understand that assets like OPP or the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant have conditional standalone value,” he said.

Such enterprises were originally created as parts of a unified production chain within the Soviet Union. Therefore, the issue of selling OPP to resume fertilizer production hinges on the cost of gas and its transportation, as well as on the corporate group within which the asset can be effectively developed and capitalized.

The key issue is finding an external investor capable of mitigating the wartime factor.

“We need to look for an external investor. The question is who can afford not to overly factor in wartime risks — who, by virtue of their flag and citizenship, can guarantee the security of the asset,” Natalukha noted.

He added that potential options include strategic players from countries with significant political and security weight, such as the United States or India.

• In late June 2025, during Russian drone and missile attacks on port infrastructure in Odesa region, the transshipment complex of the Odesa Portside Plant was hit. Following the strike, the plant suspended grain transshipment operations.
• In early September, it became known that the plant was working to resume transshipment activities.
• On November 25, 2025, an auction for the privatization of the Odesa Portside Plant was scheduled in the Prozorro.Sale system with a starting price of UAH 4.49 billion. The auction did not take place due to the absence of registered bidders.