
MINSK, 28 May (BelTA) - We need to shape the development program for Pripyat Polesie carefully, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with Governor of Brest Oblast Piotr Parkhomchik to receive his report, BelTA has learned.
"Let’s discuss the program for Pripyat Polesie. I see that together with Mikhail Ivanovich Rusy [deputy, aide to the President - inspector for Brest Oblast], you seem to have structured it in a way that requires three billion dollars, possibly following the idea that if you ask for more, you receive less. But if it is about three billion, you must specify where we will get this money. If you think it will simply come from the national budget, that is a mistake. So we need to consider what we should do there and minimize costs. This program is serious. We will work on it," the president said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned an article he had recently read about greenhouse cucumber growing in the south of Belarus: “How do they [farmers], especially in Polesie, heat greenhouses at night? Do they have to use firewood every 40 minutes there?”
“I thought about pellets then. They need to be loaded [to the boiler] once a week. All you need to do is to install a boiler, load it once a week or in 10 days, and check it sometimes. We should try it and invite our farmers from Pinsk District and others to follow suit. We may also help them with loans, if necessary,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
Following the meeting with the head of state, Piotr Parkhomchik emphasized the importance of financing the Pripyat Polesie development program for the successful implementation of its ideas and plans. He requested financial support from the president. "I asked for financial support, and we will be responsible for this money. The funds provided by our banks come with higher interest rates. The president promised to consider this issue and provide support. But we will receive money only for those projects and ideas that will produce tangible results in the short term."