Business news

MINSK, 15 July (BelTA) – The main operations to build the infrastructure in the starting zone of the primary development area in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone will be completed ahead of schedule in September 2016. The information was released during the meeting of Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoly Kalinin and general representative of China Merchants Group in Central Asia and the Baltic states, Chief Executive Officer of SZAO Industrial Park Development Company Hu Zheng in Minsk on 15 July, the press service of the Belarusian government told BelTA.

The meeting focused on civil engineering projects in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone. In January-June 2016 the construction of roads and engineering networks, gas distribution lines was completed in the primary development area of the park. Engineering infrastructure — water pumping stations, rainfall treatment facilities, electricity supply facilities and other ones — are nearly ready.

The Chinese side assured that the main operations to build infrastructure in the starting zone of the primary development area in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone will be completed ahead of schedule in September 2016, said the press service.

Hu Zheng informed that an agreement had been reached with the Chinese Commerce Ministry on attracting Chinese technical and economic aid to reconstruct the entire bed of the Usha River (a river in Smolevichi District, Minsk Oblast, part of the river bed is located in the industrial park). Negotiations are underway with the Commerce Ministry on attracting technical and economic aid to build social facilities (a hospital, residential premises, a community center) in the industrial park.

Close attention was paid to the construction of a logistics depot by China Merchants Group. The first facilities in the logistics depot will occupy a total of 100,000m2 and will be commissioned in October-November 2016. On the whole, the Chinese company intends to build a logistics depot as large as 360,000m2.

Anatoly Kalinin and Hu Zheng also discussed ways to step up cooperation between Belarus and China in other areas. China Merchants Group is the world’s largest logistics company and is ready to help Belarus develop a long-term strategy to advance logistics and train the relevant personnel.

Participants of the meeting also mentioned their mutual interest in creating a joint design institute and making metal structures as well as an interest in stepping up interaction in the sphere of logistics and telecommunications.

Apart from that, Hu Zheng noted that the Chinese side is ready to provide all kinds of assistance to help alleviate consequences of the unfavorable weather phenomena that the Republic of Belarus experienced on 13-14 July. In the near future the Chinese side will provide assistance to the Minsk Oblast administration to the tune of about $100,000.