VITEBSK, 14 July (BelTA) – A new resident company – OOO Belmatch – has been registered in the free economic zone (FEZ) Vitebsk. A Canadian investor intends to start making match sticks, the FEZ Vitebsk administration told BelTA.
The project will be implemented at premises of UP Zavod Belit, which is another resident of FEZ Vitebsk, in the town of Postavy. The Canadian investor will supply equipment and will start making match sticks, including stick polishing and impregnation with an anti-smoldering compound. A total of about 70 jobs will be created. The output will be exported. Priority target markets include African countries as well as South America and India.
The project is being implemented with assistance of the National Agency of Investment and Privatization (NAIP). The agency organized interaction with the company SOCALCO SARL (Congo), which is owned by the Canadian investor. The company is part of DEWJI International, which is headquartered in the UAE. The first meeting took place on sidelines of the Belarusian Industrial and Investment Forum in Minsk in September 2019. Visits to the region to examine opportunities for implementing the project worth about $4 million were arranged with the NAIP's assistance later on. SOCALCO SARL is the largest manufacturer of matches in Africa.
OOO Belmatch is the 26th resident company with foreign capital in FEZ Vitebsk. A total of 53 investment projects involving investors from 15 countries, including Germany, Czechia, Russia, Poland, UK, USA, Israel, Cyprus, and Estonia, are being implemented in the free economic zone. As many as 20 companies started working as FEZ Vitebsk residents in the last 2.5 years. The total volume of investments declared as part of their projects exceeds $336 million. The number of jobs these projects are supposed to create will be at least 1,300.
The free economic zone (FEZ) Vitebsk was established in 1999 and comprises 16 sectors with the total area of nearly 2,800ha. Seven sectors are located in Vitebsk, five in Orsha District, one in Vitebsk District, one in Polotsk District, one in Postavy District, and another one in Novopolotsk. The companies operating in the free economic zone employ about 16,700 people.
