Investors from 4 countries plan to start implementing projects in the FEZ "Vitebsk" this year

In 2020, the administration of FEZ "Vitebsk" plans to register at least six enterprises established with the participation of investors from Canada, China, Azerbaijan, and Russia as residents, as reported by the FEZ administration.

According to preliminary data, the total investment volume for the planned projects will exceed $100 million, with at least 300 jobs expected to be created.

For instance, a company from Azerbaijan is prepared to organise high-tech production of small-tonnage chemicals at one of the FEZ sites in Polotsk. The project is intended to be implemented in several stages. The initial investment volume will be around $600,000, creating 30 jobs. Subsequently, the investor is ready to increase investments several dozen times and bring the workforce of the new production facility to 200. Also in Polotsk, a Belarusian investor, under FEZ terms, will engage in the production of stainless steel tanks, creating approximately 20 jobs. Belarusian-Russian JV "Novopolotsk Plant of Technological Metal Structures" is considering the implementation of a project to organise hot-dip galvanizing production with an investment volume of about $10 million at the site in the village of Farinovo (Polotsk District).

A Chinese company intends to establish a woodworking complex at the main FEZ site on the outskirts of the regional centre, investing approximately $28 million in the project.

Furthermore, a package of documents is being prepared for registration of Belmetch LLC as a resident. The enterprise, established with the participation of an investor from Canada, will specialize in the production of matchsticks and will be located in Postavy. In Orsha, a Belarusian company is ready to launch the production of fuel pellets, and OAO Zavod PAK is initiating a project to organize the production of components for quarry trucks.

In 2019, eight organizations established with the participation of investors from Lithuania, Sweden, Spain, Russia, and Belarus obtained the status of residents of the Vitebsk FEZ. The total volume of investments in new projects exceeds $52 million, with at least 270 jobs to be created. In terms of the number of residents registered in 2019, the Vitebsk FEZ showed the second result after the Minsk FEZ, the administration noted.

In total, 50 enterprises with the participation of investors from 14 countries are implementing projects as residents of the Vitebsk FEZ. In 2019, they produced industrial products worth almost Br1.4 billion, with a production volume growth rate of 115.4%. Labor productivity increased by 14.8%, and output per employee grew by 14.6%. Residents of the Vitebsk FEZ attracted $16.5 million in net direct foreign investment in 2019, which is 3.5 times more than the previous year. Products worth $575.6 million were supplied to foreign markets, and services exports exceeded $55 million. 372 jobs were created, and the average headcount in FEZ organizations was 16.7 thousand people.