Business news

MINSK, 15 May (BelTA) – Czech companies establish joint ventures and foreign-owned enterprises in Belarus more and more often, BelTA learned from representatives of the Embassy of Belarus in Czechia after the seventh session of the Belarusian-Czech mixed commission on economic, industrial, scientific and technical cooperation in Ostravice.

According to the source, Czech companies are moving away from simple trade and equipment installation towards the establishment of joint ventures and foreign-owned enterprises in Belarus. Czech companies also establish enterprises based on manufacturing cooperation schemes. At present there are 123 enterprises with Czech capital in Belarus, 23 up from 2013, including 76 joint ventures and 47 foreign-owned enterprises. The most promising branches of the economy for setting up joint ventures include power engineering and mechanical engineering, which the governments of both countries consider as central to achieving sustainable development.

The session was chaired by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Alexander Guryanov and Deputy Industry and Trade Minister of Czechia Jiri Koliba. The session summed up results of cooperation in 2014 and determined the avenues that need concerted efforts of Belarusian and Czech government agencies. In particular, it was noted that variants of cooperation are actively discussed between the group of companies Vitkovice MG and OAO Novogrudok Gas Equipment Plant for the sake of manufacturing condensed natural gas (CNG) bottles for vehicles and buses, refueling stations, including movable refueling stations that offer liquefied natural gas. Other promising projects are being discussed as well. Bauer Technics Company’s project to build the second stage of a new pig farm in Borisov District is nearing completion, said the source.

BelTA has been told that taking into account positive experience of cooperation with Metrostav Company, which finished the construction of the service zone of the Belarusian border checkpoint Kozlovichi 2 in December 2014, the Czech company expressed its interest in acting as the general supplier in building the third line of the Minsk metro system. Export funding to the tune of up to €300 million is available. For the sake of implementing the project Metrostav Company is ready to provide technologies and equipment that allow fast and quality construction of tunnels.

The Belarusian national electrical company Belenergo is in negotiations with Mavel Company, which has experience of supplying turbine equipment for Belarusian power plants. The sides are discussing the participation of the Czech company in building a series of hydropower plants (Beshenkovichi, Verkhnedvinsk, Nemnovo, Orsha, Mogilev, and Shklov) on terms of direct investment. There are plans to start manufacturing the base paper at the Shklov-based newsprint mill in 2015, with the output capacity expected to reach 30,000 tonnes per annum. The project uses equipment made by the Czech company Papcel. The Czech company evaluates the project as the largest one in its history.

The Belarusian petrochemical company Naftan is implementing a number of capital-intensive projects with assistance of the Czech company UNIS. For the sake of more effective implementation of current projects and expanding future participation opportunities UNIS has set up a daughter enterprise specializing in designing.