Investors from 4 countries plan to start implementing projects in the FEZ "Vitebsk" this year
According to preliminary data, the total investment volume for the planned projects will exceed $100 million, with at least 300 jobs expected to be created.
For example, a company from Azerbaijan is ready to organize high-tech production of small-tonnage chemicals at one of the FEZ sites in Polotsk. The project is planned to be implemented in several stages. The initial investment volume will be about $600 thousand, and 30 jobs will be created. Subsequently, the investor is ready to increase investments several dozen times and bring the number of personnel at the new production facility to 200. Also in Polotsk, a Belarusian investor, under the FEZ conditions, will be engaged in the production of stainless steel tanks, organizing about 20 jobs. Belarusian-Russian CJSC "Novopolotsk Plant of Technological Metal Structures" is considering the possibility of implementing a project to organize hot-dip galvanizing production with an investment volume of about $10 million at the site in the village of Farinovo (Polotsk district).
A Chinese company intends to create a woodworking complex at the main FEZ site on the outskirts of the regional center, investing about $28 million in the project.
In addition, a package of documents is being prepared for the registration of "Belmetch" LLC as a resident. The enterprise, being established with the participation of an investor from Canada, will specialize in the production of matchsticks and will be located at the site in Postavy. In Orsha, a Belarusian company is ready to establish the production of fuel pellets, and OJSC "PAK Plant" is initiating a project to organize the production of components for quarry trucks.
In 2019, eight organizations established with the participation of investors from Lithuania, Sweden, Spain, Russia, and Belarus received the status of resident of FEZ "Vitebsk". The total investment volume for new projects exceeds $52 million, and it is planned to create at least 270 jobs. In terms of the number of residents registered in 2019, FEZ "Vitebsk" showed the second result after FEZ "Minsk", the administration noted.
In total, 50 enterprises with the participation of investors from 14 countries are implementing projects as residents of FEZ "Vitebsk". In 2019, they produced industrial products worth almost Br1.4 billion, with a production volume growth rate of 115.4%. Labor productivity increased by 14.8%, and output per employee increased by 14.6%. In 2019, residents of FEZ "Vitebsk" attracted $16.5 million in net direct foreign investment, which is 3.5 times more than the previous year. Products worth $575.6 million were supplied to foreign markets, and exports of services exceeded $55 million. 372 jobs were created, and the average number of employees in FEZ organizations was 16.7 thousand people.