News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 12 May (BelTA) – The first seven resident companies of the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park have got registration certificates. The ceremony of handing over the certificates held at the construction site of the first phase of the industrial park on 12 May was attended by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and China President Xi Jinping, BelTA has learned.

The leaders of the two countries were made familiar with the project of the park, short descriptions of investment projects of the first resident companies. Alexander Lukashenko and Xi Jinping signed the park’s development plan.

The administration of the industrial park and the representatives of 14 companies have exchanged letters of intent to become resident companies of the park. The sides are mulling over the accession of China Merchants Group to SZAO Industrial Park Development Company with a 20% share. This will be the second largest shareholder after Sinomach. This corporation has a huge experience in the operation of industrial parks and the development of logistics projects. The best practices of this company and Sinomach will create a synergy effect in the positioning of the park as a key hub in the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative by the Chinese leadership.

The establishment of subparks is one of the crucial efforts to attract resident companies to the industrial park. A number of Chinese provinces express eagerness to build their subparks on the territory of the Great Stone Industrial Park. Such agreements have been reached and are elaborated with the city of Harbin, Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Guangdong, Zhejiang, the company СРС Internacional (the United Arab Emirates).

The works to build the infrastructure of the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park proceed on schedule. The construction site of the starting zone of the park has been submitted to the general contractor, the construction works have been launched. The designing and construction of standard commercial and industrial facilities for future resident companies are conducted at the same time. It is expected that roads, including with modern road pavement, power networks, water and gas supply systems, water disposal networks, communications, engineering facilities, an electric substation will be built at the end of 2016. It is planned that potential investors will be able to rent real estate (an administrative business center, offices, standard production facilities) in early 2017.

In spite of the fact that at the initial stage the project is financed by the shareholders of the joint managing company, there are plans to use additional sources of financing in the future. The Chinese side is ready to sponsor the construction of the infrastructure in the park by issuing a preferential loan, first of all, from the unutilized credit resources within the framework of previous agreements and by means of financing investment projects implemented by Chinese companies.