Business news

27 Feb 2019

Belarus, World Bank working on three new investment projects

MINSK, 27 February (BelTA) – Belarus and the World Bank are busy preparing three new investment projects. The projects were mentioned as First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Alexander Turchin met with World Bank Country Director for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine Satu Kahkonen, BelTA has learned.

The meeting touched upon plans to implement projects financed by the World Bank and update the roadmap of structural reforms. “The preparation of three investment projects is in the active phase now. The government closely oversees the matter,” Alexander Turchin said.

Alexander Turchin also suggested implementing another project in Belarus. “Together with the World Bank we are implementing a project to reconstruct the M6 motorway. Enhancing the transit potential is one of the most important directions in the development of our country. In essence the M1 motorway is the key transport artery of the country. It was built in anticipation of the 1980 Olympic Games, which took place in Moscow. Certain repair work is in order considering the fact that a considerable amount of time has passed since then. I suggest considering this proposal as one of the projects we could finance using World Bank money,” he noted.

Satu Kahkonen said that changes would happen in the management of the World Bank Group soon and programs on partnership with countries would be analyzed. This is why the nascent project to modernize the education system and another project in the sphere of utilities industry should be approved by June 2019. Another project concerning energy effectiveness should be approved shortly after that. “We are already in the home stretch,” she stressed.

Over the entire period of cooperation (1992-2018) the World Bank invested about $1.7 billion in a number of significant infrastructure projects in Belarus. As of 1 January 2019 the World Bank’s portfolio included eight investment projects with borrowed finance to the tune of $790.1 million and two grants to the tune of $7.3 million.