The Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee has concluded 22 investment agreements worth Br1.3 trillion since the beginning of the year.
21/08/20120 views
On August 21, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Since the beginning of the current year, the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee has concluded 22 investment agreements worth Br1.3 trillion in accordance with Decree No. 10 "On Creating Additional Conditions for Investment Activities in the Republic of Belarus," Svetlana Medvedskaya, Head of the Investment and Innovation Department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Economics Committee, told a BELTA correspondent.
The project implementation periods are set until 2019. In total, since Decree No. 10 came into force (entered into force on August 6, 2009. - BELTA note), 91 investment agreements worth Br3.6 trillion have been concluded in the region. Thus, one-third of the amount of signed agreements was accounted for by the current year, the interviewee emphasized. The activation of fruitful cooperation with investors in the region, including foreign ones, has been facilitated by both the organisation of international investment and innovation forums and the strengthening of economic, cultural, and educational ties between the region and regions of other states. Foreign partners have shown interest in projects in the meat and dairy and food industries, in garment manufacturing, and in the deep processing of wood and peat for the production of fuel pellets.
For example, a Russian company, together with the Verkhnedvinsk Butter and Cheese Factory, is establishing a joint venture "Verkhny Lug" and commencing the production of "Mozzarella" type cheese. The total investment amount will be Br21 billion. Approximately 95% of the products will be exported to the Russian Federation. The Swedish company "Vireo Energy AB" is creating facilities for obtaining landfill gas and producing electrical and thermal energy from it at solid municipal waste landfills in Tolochinsky, Orshansky, and Vitebsky districts. In Gluboksky district, the construction of the health and tourist complex "Plissa" is underway, with approximately Br17.5 billion already invested.
Furthermore, major projects are being implemented in the region, significant not only for the economy of the region but also for Belarus as a whole. Thus, an investment agreement was signed between the Ministry of Industry, OJSC "Zavod "Legmash" and Manuli Rubber Industries s.p.a. for the organization of high-pressure hose production, and a joint venture was established in Orsha. The declared investment volume is over $4 million. On the basis of the Orsha Aircraft Repair Plant, with investments from companies of Ukraine, Belarus, and the Russian Federation, the implementation of an investment project for the modernization of the technological base for the repair and maintenance of helicopter and aircraft equipment, and the construction of a transport and logistics center in Bolbasovo has begun. Projects in the energy sector are being implemented with the participation of foreign capital: the construction of a cascade of hydroelectric power stations on the Western Dvina has begun, and a 427 MW gas turbine plant is under construction at the Lukomlskaya GRES.
Currently, the regional executive committee, together with foreign investors, is working on projects for the creation of transport and logistics centers in the vicinity of Vitebsk Airport and the "Grigorovshchina" border crossing in Verkhnedvinsk District.
Economic entities of the Vitebsk region maintain foreign economic relations with more than 100 countries worldwide and all regions of the Russian Federation. By the end of the current year, the region plans to organize outbound investment and innovation forums in Moscow and the Moscow region, in Smolensk, Kaluga, and St. Petersburg.Decree No. 10 of August 6, 2009 "On the Creation of Additional Conditions for Investment Activities in the Republic of Belarus" establishes rules for both Belarusian and foreign investors that facilitate the commencement of investment projects in Belarus. It enshrines investors' responsibility for fulfilling their commitments. Contracts concluded with investors clearly define the objects, volumes, and timelines for investment. General preferences for projects implemented under investment agreements are stipulated. The Decree enshrines the mandatory conditions for concluding investment agreements and provides for their expansion based on the industry focus and specifics of the investment project. Taking into account the practice of implementing investment projects in Belarus, investors who have concluded investment agreements are offered general preferences such as the provision of land plots for lease without auction; phased processing of necessary documents for land allocation concurrently with construction on actually occupied lands and construction of facilities with parallel design of subsequent construction stages; import of technological equipment and spare parts for facilities related to the implementation of the investment project without payment of customs duties and value added tax.-0-
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