New resident of FEZ "Vitebsk" invests 1 million euros in the creation of furniture production for restaurants

December 28, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. The administration of the FEZ "Vitebsk" has registered the foreign limited liability company "Bodhapada" as a resident with a project to create a furniture production for restaurants and cafes. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by Oleg Kondratovich, head of the investment and foreign economic relations department of the FEZ administration. The founder of the foreign enterprise is a Russian investor who intends to invest about 1 million euros in the new production. The new resident will create an enterprise in the free economic zone for the production of wooden and metal furniture (including with the use of stainless steel) for the leisure industry. The main volume of investments will be directed to the purchase of equipment, including robotic welding and painting lines, which will make the technological process environmentally safe. The production capacity of the future enterprise is designed to produce about 400 items per day. The new resident plans to export up to 90% of its products, mainly to Russia, where its promotion will be carried out, including through distribution centers in the Smolensk and Penza regions. The implementation of the project is expected to create more than 30 jobs. The FEZ "Vitebsk" was established in August 1999. Currently, 34 resident enterprises operate in the FEZ, established with the participation of investors from 13 countries, including Germany, Poland, the USA, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Russia, and Canada. For 10 months of 2009, the revenue from the sale of products by FEZ residents amounted to Br490.8 billion, which is 4.4% higher than the same period last year. Goods worth $71.8 million were exported, with a positive balance (excluding oil and oil products) of $2 million. In January-September, FEZ residents invested Br39.1 billion in fixed assets, which is more than a third higher than the investment volume for the same period last year. In addition, more than $36 million of foreign investment was attracted, and 214 new jobs were created. The industrial potential of the FEZ is based on enterprises operating in the fields of mechanical engineering and metalworking, food, chemical, fuel, and light industries. The average number of employees in the FEZ enterprises exceeds 8,000 people. The territory of the free economic zone includes seven sectors with a total area of more than 1.2 thousand hectares.