14 November, Minsk /Nadezhda Radivon - BELTA/. The Minsk City Executive Committee has opened a "one-stop shop" for investors. Today, journalists were shown how the new principle works in practice, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
The one-stop shop principle provides for clear work with investors, from submitting an application to signing an investment agreement. At the next stage, it is planned to regulate all other procedures that need to be completed after signing the agreement up to obtaining a construction permit.
Among the innovations is the creation of a consultative council on investment activities, an advisory body whose functions include preliminary information and consultation on the first and subsequent steps required to form a package of documents. Here, even before submitting an application, an investor can clarify key issues: whether the land plot they like is occupied, what encumbrances or urban planning restrictions exist, whether connection to existing main networks is possible, and so on.
For remote consultations, a conference call has been organised with district administrations and structural units involved in the process. One hour after submitting documents, employees of the Minsk City Executive Committee begin processing the proposals received from the investor. A total of 25-30 days are allocated for the review procedure.
"Thus, a phased mechanism for working with investors has been defined, and control has been tightened at all stages of document processing. Another important point is that we have eliminated unnecessary contacts with officials of the executive committee, utility enterprises, and district administrations," said Nikolai Akhramenko, Head of the Investment Department of the Minsk City Executive Committee's Economy Committee.
Denis Yeremenko, Deputy Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee's Economy Committee, noted that the Minsk City Executive Committee has expanded the range of offers for investors. The Investment Atlas, posted on the city executive committee's website, includes more than 70 land plots offered for project implementation. These, as well as the city's investment opportunities, can be viewed using the info kiosk installed in the one-stop shop service. Full information with document samples (applications, investment agreements, financial and economic justifications), and a visitor reception schedule are presented on information stands.
The Advisory Council currently operates three times a week – on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00 to 19:00. There is a duty officer who can answer all organizational questions and connect via video link with other services (committees for economy, construction and investment, architecture and urban planning, natural resources and environmental protection, land surveyors, the "Minsk City Property" fund, district administrations, design organizations, the city department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations).
"One Window" for investors has been operating in test mode since early November. Moscow colleagues are already interested in the experience of the Minsk City Executive Committee. "I think we will continue to modernize our work to make the service as convenient as possible for the investor," noted Denis Yeremenko. -0-
BELTA