Economy Ministry: at least 100 projects worth Br600m to be realised in 80+ cities in the current five-year period

In an interview with the Belarus Today Publishing House, Belarus’ Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov told what projects are planned to be implemented in the near future in the 80+ cities. According to him, the excessive concentration of production forces in one place leads to territorial, social and economic imbalances in any country.

“This is a well-known fact. Sustainable economic development requires several ‘magnet places’ for capital and labour force outside the capital and regional centres, where people would have attractive living and working conditions. They are defined in Belarus’ socio-economic development programme for 2021-2025, with 80+ cities playing a key role. The potential of these regions is enormous: 15 percent of those employed in the economy work there, which form almost 30 percent of industrial production and 20 percent of exports,” Aleksandr Chervyakov explained.

At the same time, according to him, there are untapped growth reserves, “150,000sq.m of finished industrial sites and more than 500 hectares of unoccupied land in free economic zones. Moreover, in 2022, the FEZ included additional territories in Pinsk, Polotsk and Lida with a total area of 160 hectares. Active work of FEZ residents confirms high investment attractiveness of 80+ cities. At the moment, fifty companies are implementing their projects there, employing over 29,000 people. As of October 1st, 2022, more than $1.7bn has been invested.

The Minister noted that the state expects that at least 100 projects with a total investment of Br600m+ will be implemented in these cities during the current five-year period, and 3,500 jobs will be created.

“It should be noted that it is not always economically feasible to create an enterprise from scratch. Often, modernisation and the release of a new product line at existing enterprises give a faster and more powerful effect. The main thing is that at the same time the technological chain of production should be extended, imported components should be replaced by domestic developments, and the depth of processing of local raw materials should be increased,” he stressed.