Business news

31 Jul 2020

China-Belarus industrial park to possibly get seven new resident companies by year end

An archive photo

MINSK, 31 July (BelTA) – Seven new resident companies may be established in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone. Deputy Director General of SZAO Industrial Park Development Company Sergei Vaitekhovsky made the statement during the international investment online conference From Recovery to Sustainable Growth, BelTA has learned.

According to the source, closed borders have had an effect on investment activities. In January 2020 30 companies were making real plans of investing in the China-Belarus industrial park but many of them have put their projects on hold. Eight companies have been registered as the park’s residents this year. “We expect another seven to join the park by the end of the year,” Sergei Vaitekhovsky said.

At present the park is home to 63 resident companies. The declared volume of investments exceeds $1 billion. More than ten countries are represented in the capital of these resident companies, including Belarus, China, USA, Switzerland, and Germany. 70% of the companies focus on manufacturing. They operate in various spheres: electronics, mechanical engineering, new materials, pharmaceutics, and production of medical goods. Some residents focus on R&D and projects in the sphere of services.

Over $200 million has already been invested in building roads, utility lines, wastewater treatment facilities, and other things in the park. “We’ve created rather broad opportunities for the private sector to implement projects either in land plots where all the utilities are available or in ready-made modern manufacturing and office premises. The area of the latter has already reached 95,000m2,” Sergei Vaitekhovsky added.

The China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone is a special economic zone with a special legal regime. It is located 25km away from Minsk.