MINSK, 30 May (BelTA) – The Belarusian economy may expand by 2% annually on the heels of the regional industrialization plan, Belarus' First Deputy Prime Minister Vasily Matyushevsky said at the joint session of the two houses of the Belarusian parliament on 30 May, BelTA has learned.
The economy ministry has prepared a comprehensive plan for the new industrialization of regions of Belarus up to 2025. Today, on the instruction of the prime minister, it is being finalized by the relevant government agencies and local authorities. “Thanks to the successful implementation of the 100 priority projects envisaged in the plan the number of high performance jobs may grow by 30,000 and GDP expand by 0.5-0.7% annually. On the whole, this plan may help the economy to expand by 2% annually,” Vasily Matyushevsky added.
The plan, he said, is the first step towards building a new regional economy. At the moment it includes 1,742 investment project in key areas. Vasily Matyushevsky drew attention that the plans views the traditional theme of import substitution much wider: within the EAEU. “Therefore, the first phase implies 327 commodity groups worth $63 billion which can and must be produced in Belarus,” he stressed. The government believes that achieving this target will yield real benefits in the medium term.
Vasily Matyushevsky recalled 169 projects as part of the joint plan of action with China. According to him, plans are in place to sign an agreement on readiness to work on specific projects from the list at the Shanghai Expo in November. “Thus, we are implementing the president's instruction to switch from the credit cooperation to investment in enterprises and greenfield projects,” he said. The final block of the industrialization plan includes about 1,200 projects that take into account the specific features and profile of a region.
