By Kateryna Mykhailova

Copyright kyivpost

Ukraine’s postal and logistics group, Meest, has started building a $30 million logistics hub located outside the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Forbes Ukraine reported.

The hub will cover 24,000 square meters (258,334 square feet) and process up to 1 million parcels a day and will also be Meest’s largest. Completion is planned for April 2026.

According to Forbes, the hub strengthens Meest’s position in e-commerce logistics, adding competition to a market dominated by Nova Poshta. Its location on Lviv’s bypass also improves access to border checkpoints and reduces truck traffic in the city.

Meest group was founded in 1989 in Canada by members of the Ukrainian diaspora. Since then, it has grown from a delivery service between Canada and Ukraine to a global logistics group, covering over 70 countries.

Meest already operates two logistics complexes in Lviv and a 10,000-square-meter (107,639-square-foot) hub near Kyiv’s Zhuliany airport. It also runs 61 smaller hubs across Ukraine.

In the spring of 2024, Meest invested $72 million in developing its own network in six European countries. Now, the group is focusing on expansion in Ukraine, Forbes wrote.

Meest faces strong competition in Ukraine from the country’s largest private postal provider, Nova Poshta (Nova Post), and the state-owned operator, Ukrposhta.

Nova Poshta’s revenue grew 22.8% last year, reaching Hr.44.8billion ($1.1 billion). About 90% of the company’s revenue comes from its domestic business in Ukraine, co-owner Volodymyr Poperyshniuk told Forbes Ukraine in June. Parcel and cargo volumes increased 16%, exceeding 480 million shipments.

Ukrposhta’s revenue in 2024 rose 8% to Hr.12.98 billion ($315,3 million), while the company posted a net loss of Hr.413 million ($10 million). Ukrposhta handles over 50% of international mail in Ukraine and around 10-15% of domestic parcels, CEO Ihor Smiliansky told Forbes Ukraine in April. Last year, international shipments grew 41%, reaching Hr.36 million ($874,500).

Nova Poshta’s scale and dominance make it a difficult rival to catch.

Besides Ukraine, the Nova Poshta operates in 16 other countries and even has its own airline.

In November 2024, Supernova Airlines, the cargo company belonging to Nova Post, completed its first cargo charter flight on its Boeing 737-800 aircraft from Budapest to Chisinau.

Still, risks remain. The region, though safer than eastern Ukraine, continues to suffer Russian attacks that damage businesses. Lviv’s logistics market is also oversaturated, driving up rental costs and raising concerns about long-term growth, the media outlet wrote.