MINSK, 12 March (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has been informed about the projects that will allow reducing the share of imports used by the civil engineering industry. Belarusian Architecture and Construction Minister Ruslan Parkhamovich mentioned it after a government conference hosted by the head of state on 12 March to discuss the state and development of the country’s stock of mineral resources, BelTA has learned.
Ruslan Parkhamovich said: “Unfortunately, we cannot operate without imports now. The share of import may be small, only 15% of the raw materials but it is there. This is why the main task for the near future is to address the matter of import substitution.”
The minister remarked that Belarus has plenty of the mineral resources that are used to make construction products such as sand and construction stone. Some deposits can last for over 200 years. “But indeed, today we are going to take care of and pay close attention to what we have to buy in exchange for foreign currency,” Ruslan Parkhamovich said.
During the government conference he made a report about a number of investment projects slated for implementation. The first one provides for making artificial gypsum stone using chemical waste. The second one provides for making sodium carbonate. “We have our own resources for it. Waste from potassium mining, our limestone, and highly concentrated carbon dioxide. We have more than 70% of the raw materials that we need to make these products that are primarily used by the glass industry. Today sodium carbonate accounts for about 40% of the import shipments of the ministry. It is the most pressing issue for us today,” the minister said.
