Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 9 July (BelTA) – The government is satisfied with how work in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone proceeds, BelTA learned from Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoly Kalinin on 9 July.

The official said: “On behalf of the government I can say that we are satisfied with how the industrial park develops. I am convinced that in the next five-year term it will be one of the factors driving the development of our economy. It is the main decoration of the Silk Road, a pearl of the Silk Road.”

Anatoly Kalinin noted that infrastructure had been created in the park to allow any newcomer to start working right away. In his words, the fact that visa-free travels between Belarus and China will come into force soon is another important thing for the development of the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone. “Good transport service between Minsk and the industrial park is available. There will be a fast railway here in the future. There are plans to build a motorway to connect the capital city, the industrial park, and the Minsk National Airport,” he said.

The deputy prime minister noted that negotiations are in progress on expanding aviation cooperation, in particular, the possibility of transporting freight by air. “Belarus will commission the second runway [in the Minsk National Airport] in November. It will be able to handle any aircraft. It will allow developing the transport infrastructure of the industrial park among other things, too,” he explained.

The official specified that German, Belarusian, and Chinese companies are expected to start jointly building a major multimodal logistics hub, which will be able to handle railway freight. “All the plans and ideas of our heads of state get successfully implemented. By the end of the year about ten resident companies will start manufacturing, about 700 people will start working, thus contributing to the country’s GDP. Cutting-edge manufacturers from Belarus and China come to reside in the park,” he said.

Anatoly Kalinin noted that attention is also paid to social infrastructure. “The first residential house is being built. There are plans to build a clinic. A park has been planted in dedication to Chinese-Belarusian friendship accomplishments,” he noted.

BelTA reported earlier that $346.8 million has already been invested in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone since the project was launched. This year’s investments are expected to exceed $180 million. The volume of investments declared by resident companies stood at $998.7 million as of early July 2018.

The industrial park is expected to raise the output up to $1 billion in 2020. There are plans to create 6,480 jobs and more than double the number of resident companies – up to 100. The volume of investments is expected to reach at least $2 billion by 2020.