MINSK, 7 February (BelTA) – Belarus' Forestry Ministry is considering taking out new loans from the World Bank in 2020-2021, Forestry Minister Vitaly Drozhzha told journalists ahead of the meeting of the ministry's board, BelTA has learned.
“We met with World Bank experts yesterday. They commended the cooperation with us, saying it was recognized best among other forestry ministries. We discussed the prospects for cooperation with the World Bank in terms of new lending programs in 202-2021,” Vitaly Drozhzha said.
Previously, the World Bank extended two loans exceeding $40.7 million and €12 million to the forest sector in Belarus. The first loan has already been used. Vitaly Drozhzha said that thanks to the loans the forestry sector has stepped up upgrade efforts. “We partially updated the fleet of firefighting equipment, installed video surveillance and made good progress in the production of containerized plant,” the minister said.
Plans are in place to build a center to grow containerized plants in Mogilev Oblast this year. The plans for the near future also include the commissioning of a forest seed center and further renewal of equipment for cutting operations.
