The Kovel Porto industrial park in Ukraine has reached a key stage in its infrastructure development—the construction of a 4.5 km dual-gauge railway line (1435/1520 mm), connecting the investment area directly to the Kovel station, one of the region’s most important railway hubs, has been completed. The project was carried out with 50% state co-financing, in accordance with Ukraine’s Industrial Parks Act.
Thanks to this, Kovel—situated at the intersection of the M07 highway and both European-standard and broad-gauge rail networks—is gaining the status of a potential multimodal transport hub, important for Ukrainian exports as well as future links with EU markets. Terminals for handling grain, oil, containers, mineral fertilizers and fuels are being built within the park, along with modern customs infrastructure.
Kovel in the Three Seas network
During the recent Three Seas Congress in Kovel, representatives of Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Croatia discussed integrating the region with European transport corridors. As a result, a strategic cooperation agreement was signed between the City of Kovel and the industrial park, aimed at fully integrating Kovel Porto into the TEN-T network and the Rail Baltica project.
The most practical outcome of these talks is an agreement with LTG Cargo to launch a direct railway connection “Kovel–Kaunas”, linking the Kovel Porto terminal with the Kaunas Intermodal Terminal (KIT). This is the first concrete initiative to establish regular intermodal traffic between Ukraine and the Baltic states.
Economic significance and future development
The project is supported by the TAS Group and Serhiy Tihipko, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, and the Volyn Regional Administration. The initiative is already creating new jobs and increasing tax revenues in the region.
The next development phase of Kovel Porto includes:
- integration with European logistics corridors,
- expansion of intermodal infrastructure,
- renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects,
- implementation of eco-industrial park standards in cooperation with UNIDO.
Project partners emphasize that Kovel Porto may become a key link in the rail transport chain connecting Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine, especially in the context of rebuilding the Ukrainian economy and the growing importance of north–south corridors in the region.
