MINSK, 5 December (BelTA) – The World Bank is considering possible avenues of investment in Belarus' railway industry, including via public private partnership mechanisms. The plans were discussed as a group of World Bank specialists met with top officials of the National Agency of Investment and Privatization (NAIP) and representatives of the Economy Ministry, BelTA has learned.
NAIP Acting Director Denis Meleshkin presented Belarus' first public private partnership project. The project envisages the reconstruction of part of the M10 motorway. It has already been approved by the government. A tender to choose the private partner will be organized as the next step.
According to Denis Meleshkin, a huge amount of work has been done in the area of public private partnership in the last few years, including legislation development. Amendments to the Public Private Partnership Law will come into force in February 2019 to simplify the existing project implementation procedures and expand the sphere of application and mechanisms of interaction. The amendments will also give additional guarantees to the private partner.
The World Bank specialists expressed interest in continued cooperation with a view to developing public private partnership in Belarus. They noted that a major survey will be launched to study the development of infrastructure in the country for about 18 months. The World Bank is particularly interested in railway transport in this regard.
The World Bank has cooperated with Belarus since 1992 in various branches of the national economy. The World Bank counts on joint fruitful work on railway industry projects because the experience of countries like Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria indicates that cooperation in this industry will create new opportunities for development for both sides, NAIP representatives told BelTA.
