VIENNA, 24 May (BelTA) – The Austrian company EVN intends to invest in projects for municipal solid waste management and sewage water treatment in Minsk, BelTA learned from Roman Aleinikov, Head of the Public Utilities Office of the Belarusian Housing and Utilities Ministry, on the sidelines of the Belarusian-European investment forum in Vienna on 24 May.
According to the source, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky met with top executives of EVN Company, which has operations in 21 countries specializing in energy industry, water management, and municipal solid waste management. The company was invited to invest in these economy branches in Belarus and the proposal was met with interest. Those are projects concerning municipal solid waste management and sewage water treatment in Minsk, noted Roman Aleinikov.
The meeting resulted in an agreement that representatives of the Austrian company will come to Minsk to meet with Minsk Mayor Andrei Shorets for detailed discussions.
Roman Aleinikov said that the project will require €10 million in investments initially. “The preparatory stage will take about six months. Designing and construction will begin after that. EVN Company would like to set up a joint venture together with a Belarusian partner. A subdivision of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is under consideration,” explained the official. In the long term the company is ready to invest up to €100 million in infrastructure projects in Belarus.
The forum to attract European investments to the Republic of Belarus took place in Austria's capital city Vienna on 24 May. The forum was organized by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs upon instructions of Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov. Over 120 people took part in the event. Apart from Austrian companies interests of the European business community were represented by businessmen from Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Latvia, Hungary, and Slovakia. President of the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria Christoph Leitl took part in the forum as well as representatives of the European Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Eurochambres (the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry), and other parties.
