Lukashenko to inspect fulfilment of instructions on development of former motorcycle factory territory
President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko visiting Minsk City Technopark today, BelTA reports
The Head of State will be reported on how the Minsk City Technopark site reconstruction is progressing, and he will also get acquainted with the exhibition of products of its residents.
Aleksandr Lukashenko is expected to visit the production sites of several enterprises, including MotoVeloZavod JSC, and talk with the Minsk City Technopark employees.
The issue of how to develop the unused areas, where the motorcycle factory was located since Soviet times, was discussed in March 2021. It was then a large enterprise which range of components were sold all over the USSR. Given the current realities, most of the areas turned out to be unoccupied – so it was necessary to take the appropriate measures. The President was even offered to clean up the site and build houses there. Actually, the territory here is attractive, since it is not far from Minsk’s centre.
However, Aleksandr Lukashenko made a different decision: to open a technopark after reconstructing the area. “We need to approach this issue in a state-style manner and ensure a masterly development of this territory. This is a true ‘gold mine’, but we need no housing here. There should be high-tech production," the Head of State emphasised. "We need to create an exemplary technopark and develop this branch in other cities and places following its example."
"We will preserve this production site in the city centre, but will make it clean – with no casting, no petroleum products. Another feature of this technopark site is that it will focus directly on production," the President said in March 2021.
The Minsk City Technopark received a land plot in Partizansky Avenue with an area of 27.6 hectares. There were 60 detached buildings (covering an area of 160 thousand square metres) but only about 60 percent of them were used. The deterioration of buildings and utility networks ranged from 40 to 100 percent.
Twenty-eight stages were planned for the reconstruction of the site, and construction and installation works are currently being carried out in 12 of them. The reconstructed facilities comply with the concept of the historical development of Partizansky Prospekt in a new look. After the project is completed, the total area of 22 newly erected and reconstructed buildings (17 reconstructed and 5 new buildings) will amount to 186 thousand square metres, and the share of production and auxiliary areas will exceed 60 percent.
Currently, 68 tenants and 26 residents of the technopark carry out production and other activities on the site covering an area of 79.9 thousand square metres, and about 126 thousand square metres will become available to them in 2025. After the work is fully completed, 140 enterprises are planned to be located in Partizansky Prospekt, including forty technopark residents.
The last time Aleksandr Lukashenko visited this site was in August 2022. At that time, instructions were given to more actively carry out reconstruction, construction work and involve unused territories and premises in circulation, leasing them to manufacturers. "We must build in a modern way. We should use not 50cm brickwork, but the most modern wall panels," the Head of State demanded. "We need to do this quickly."
Special attention was paid to the preservation of the historical appearance of the building, which forms the local architectural ensemble.
The President visited the motorcycle factory then and instructed the staff to increase the production localisation.
This year, the company will celebrate the 80th anniversary of its MINSK and AIST trademarks. After reconstruction in April 2024, the metalwork and assembly workshops, as well as a warehouse complex were put into operation, and a new paint shop began operating in July. From January-November 2024, the company operated with a net profit, providing an increase in wages. The share of exports in total sales exceeded 35 percent, and much work was done to increase the production localisation level.
Last year, a lithium battery testing and assembly site was launched at the facilities of MotoVeloZavod JSC. In 2025, this advanced production will be aimed at the development and production of electric vehicles.
