The auction for the sale of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant is scheduled for early 2027

The auction for the sale of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant has been postponed to 2027, archive photo

The Mykolaiv Alumina Plant is set to be put up for privatisation auction in the first quarter of 2027. Its sale had previously been scheduled for the end of 2026.

Dmytro Natalukha, head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, announced this in an interview with NikVesti.

According to him, the auction date is expected to be set by the end of October.

«We expect to know the auction date by the end of this month. Most likely, it will be in the first quarter of next year. In other words, we expect to put it up for auction in the winter or spring of 2027,» said Dmytro Natalukha.

He explained that the delay was due to preparations for the sale of the entire package of assets confiscated by order of the High Anti-Corruption Court. This includes not only MAP, but also associated enterprises, raw materials and vehicles.

«The legislation requires the Fund to assess, describe and inspect every item of property specified in the High Anti-Corruption Court’s ruling and include it in the pool. Therefore, the postponement is solely due to the process of forming this pool,» explained the head of the State Property Fund.

Dmytro Natalukha stated that both Ukrainian and foreign companies are interested in purchasing the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant; photo: State Property Fund of Ukraine

Dmytro Natalukha asserts that the asset package has already been finalised. The next stage will be a meeting of the Fund’s auction commission, after which the documents will be forwarded to the Cabinet of Ministers.

«And then the government will decide on the final date of the auction and the starting price,» he added.

As a reminder, in June 2026, the State Property Fund published a privatisation plan under which the auction for the sale of MAP was to take place at the end of the year. The indicative starting price for the plant was 6.3 billion hryvnias. Reserves of bauxite and alumina were valued separately. The final starting price has not yet been approved.

The Mykolaiv Alumina Plant halted production in 2022 following the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. In 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that the assets of Russian oligarch Oleh Derypaska should be forfeited to the state, and the plant was subsequently transferred to the State Property Fund for management.

Previously, the former head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, had stated that once the war ends, the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant could become one of the first major industrial facilities to attract the interest of international investors. According to him, the plant could reorient itself towards European and US markets or serve as the basis for establishing aluminium production.

At the same time, the State Property Fund noted that the main obstacle to the privatisation or restart of the plant remains the risks posed by the war, rather than the company’s debts. This is precisely why Ukraine is seeking a strategic investor, particularly from the US or India.

It was reported that one of the world’s largest aluminium companies, whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, had expressed an interest in the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant.

The Ministry of Economy has stated that the issues of slurry storage facilities and environmental safety will be taken into account when drawing up the terms for the privatisation of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant.