Mykolaiv is unable to purchase salt for gritting the roads in winter due to the shelling of Odesa’s ports

Mykolaiv is unable to purchase salt for gritting the roads in winter due to the shelling of its ports. Illustrative photo: OLX

Mykolaiv has not yet purchased salt for winter road gritting. This is attributed to a lack of funds and the shelling of the port of Odesa, through which supplies pass. The situation is similar in other cities across Ukraine.

This was stated by Vitalii Shevchenko, director of the municipal enterprise «ELU Avtodorig», during a staff meeting at Mykolaiv City Council on 4 August, according to NikVesti.

Vitalii Shevchenko noted that a tender for the purchase of road salt had been held, but no contracts could be finalised.

«We haven’t purchased any salt yet because we’re a bit short of funds. That’s the first problem. The second problem is that the salt arriving in Ukraine comes via the port of Odesa. And everyone knows what the situation is like in Odesa at the moment. So, we’ve already held the tender. There were seven suppliers in the tender and not a single one was able to conclude a contract with us, because the answer was always the same: At the moment, we cannot even promise that we will deliver this salt to you, because the ports of Odesa are closed to deliveries,» explained Vitalii Shevchenko.

Vitalii Shevchenko, director of the municipal enterprise «ELU Avtodorig» (centre). Screenshot from a video by NikVesti

As he noted, Mykolaiv is looking for an alternative, but the situation is similar in other cities across Ukraine. At the same time, the city has few reserves left over from last season.

«We are currently looking for alternative supply routes through small businesses across Ukraine and are working to resolve this issue, but we do not know when we will be able to deliver it. Our remaining stock from last winter is very small — around 700 tonnes – whereas we need 1,700–2,000 tonnes or more per year. We still have some sand. And I think that if we are unable to buy salt at all, we will have to make do this season with a salt-and-sand mixture. It’s not an ideal situation, but everyone understands that we’re under martial law and we’re dependent on many factors,» said Vitalii Shevchenko.

However, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych asked that efforts be made to source salt, as spreading sand on the roads creates additional work afterwards.

«I would still ask you to try to find salt, because afterwards we have to use people and machinery to clear away the sand and the drifts that build up along the kerbs,» said the mayor.

It was previously reported that preparations for the heating season in Mykolaiv are proceeding according to plan, but the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivoblteploenergo» faces the threat of its accounts being frozen. The state has not reimbursed the company for the 1.5 billion hryvnias difference in tariffs. However, the Ministry of Finance, and its head in particular, do not consider this to be a problem.

It was also reported that the Black Sea Salt Works in the Odesa region has commenced full-scale production of table salt following a delay of several months. The company states that its current capacity will enable it to meet around half of Ukraine’s domestic demand for this product.