MINSK OBLAST, 29 July (BelTA) – The reconstruction of the M6 Minsk-Grodno motorway will allow attracting investments into the Belarusian economy. Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoly Kalinin made the statement during the solemn ceremony held on 29 July to start the reconstruction of the M6 Minsk-Grodno motorway, BelTA has learned.
“This infrastructure will allow attracting investments and creating logistics hubs, industrial enterprises, service outlets along the motorway. It will give a nudge to the development of the economy,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
World Bank Country Manager for Belarus Young Chul Kim and First Deputy Transport and Communications Minister Alexei Avramenko took part in the ceremony.
Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoly Kalinin underlined that Belarusian design institutions and subcontractors are involved in the project. In his words, Belarusians won the tender to perform this work by beating competition. He stressed that Belarusian specialists are highly competent at implementing such projects.
“The fact that Belarusians will do this work and the evaluation of the World Bank indicate that Belarusians are good at civil engineering and offer more competitive prices than other companies. They also fulfill international requirements concerning the construction of first-class roads,” remarked Anatoly Kalinin.
The M6 Minsk-Grodno motorway is an infrastructure corridor that will connect Belarusian logistics hubs with the European Union. “In the future we will negotiate with European banks to start the construction of the M7 motorway. It is an M6 branch that will go towards Vilnius. We need to connect the Klaipeda port with the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone. It will allow creating certain infrastructure along the Silk Road,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
Speaking about the timeframe of the M6 motorway reconstruction project, Anatoly Kalinin said: “We are going to build this road with quality in mind while trying to reduce the time cost as much as possible. It is the task set by the government and the head of state. The work is supposed to be finished in September 2018.” He mentioned that motorists will not be impeded since measures will be taken to keep traffic flowing smoothly.
The M6 Minsk-Grodno motorway will be reconstructed using $250 million Belarus has borrowed from the World Bank.
