June 1, Lepel District / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The growth rate of the gross regional product of the Vitebsk region for January-April 2012 amounted to 122.2%. This was announced today to the participants of the field meeting of the Council for the Interaction of Local Self-Government Bodies, dedicated to the work of the local self-government bodies of the Lepel district in creating the necessary conditions for the life support of the rural population, by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Kosinets, BELTA correspondent reports. As the governor emphasized, services constitute a significant share of the gross regional product. Their share in GRP reached 43.7%, while the share of the Naftan enterprise is 6.4%. By 2015, the region intends to reduce the share of oil refining and electric power engineering in GRP, not by reducing their production volumes, but by increasing production volumes in other sectors, particularly in mechanical engineering, as well as by increasing the volume of services. In the ranking of regions of Belarus, which consists of 21 positions, the Vitebsk region is the undisputed leader in seven points. The net profit of the region's enterprises since the beginning of the year has exceeded $200 million in equivalent terms, while in 2011 it was estimated at $8 million. The region was able to achieve such indicators as a result of the implementation of a set of measures to reduce material intensity, reduce energy costs, increase exports, diversify sales markets, and implement regional investment and innovation programs. Thus, the volume of export supplies of communal property enterprises in January-April increased sixfold, and material intensity decreased by 8%. -0-

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