Business news

MINSK, 10 July (BelTA) – The administration of the free economic zone (FEZ) Vitebsk and the Chinese company Blue Lotus have signed an agreement of intent to set up furniture making and woodworking enterprises in the free economic zone, representatives of the FEZ Vitebsk administration told BelTA.

The Chinese investor intends to set up up to ten enterprises to make a broad choice of products out of wood ranging from biofuel to furniture. The intended investments are expected to be at least $300 million.

The project’s implementation is supposed to begin in 2019. The investor intends to wrap up all the organizational matters before that, including registration as a resident in FEZ Vitebsk and the organization of raw materials delivery from Russia. The enterprises will be located at a former Air Force base on Vitebsk outskirts where the engineering networks will have to be improved. In particular, power delivery to the site will have to be improved.

FEZ Vitebsk was founded in 1999 and occupies over 2,400 hectares. It consists of 13 sectors: 7 sectors are located in Vitebsk, 4 in Orsha District, 1 in Vitebsk District and 1 in Postavy District. The free economic zone has 39 resident companies representing investors from 12 countries. The scope of manufacturing activities at FEZ Vitebsk includes mechanical engineering, electronics, veterinary medicine, chemical industry, fuel industry, food production, and light industry. The total number of people employed by FEZ Vitebsk resident companies is close to 11,000.