China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone

Asked about new residents, Kirill Koroteyev mentioned the key piece of news of late: the German company Duisburger Hafen AG is about to become a shareholder in SZAO Industrial Park Development Company. Initially it will own 1 million shares. “Duisport, the port of Duisburg is the final point of the reemerging Silk Road. Trains already depart from Duisburg to cross Belarus and reach Urumqi and travel back. It would be logical to tie up the Silk Road on both ends,” explained Kirill Koroteyev.

Several aspects of this cooperation scheme look interesting to Belarus. In particular, the German partners boast key competences in the organization of industrial logistics. “Industrial logistics goes beyond storing and transporting products. It involves operations, which can be logically performed in a distribution hub,” said Kirill Koroteyev. “For instance, raw materials for making an internationally recognized energy drink and tin for making cans are delivered to the port of Duisburg. The end product is then made and transported all over the world. Thanks to this approach Duisburg evolved from a small port into the largest European hub over the course of 20 years. While their services are not cheap, clients come to them since they understand benefits of comprehensive manufacturing logistics.”

Apart from selling a minority stake in the managing company to the German partners there are plans to set up a joint railway hub in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone. “We have a land plot as large as about 50ha near the airport. There are plans to build a transshipping and logistics terminal there under the management of Duisburger Hafen AG and possibly in partnership with China Merchants Group. It is a medium-term perspective,” said Kirill Koroteyev.

At last there is a third component in cooperation with Duisburger Hafen AG: access to the client base of the German partners. “Duisburger Hafen AG caters to Germany’s entire modern manufacturing industry such as producers of automobile components, computer equipment, electronics, and fine chemistry. In essence these are all the business types our park is supposed to attract. For instance, Duisburger Hafen AG maintains a very good partnership with DHL. If they arrived in Belarus, it would mean a lot,” assured Kirill Koroteyev.