The first auction for the sale of real estate for one base value gathered a record number of participants in the history of Vitebsk privatization

As a result, the sale price exceeded the initial lot price by almost 3 thousand times, and the revival of business activity may begin in the regional center on another depressed territory in the Gagarin Street area.

According to Mikhail Pavlyuchkov, Director of the Vitebsk Obliмущеstvo Fund, which organized the auction, previously real estate could be sold for one base unit only in districts, but last year's Decree No. 294 "On the Procedure for Disposal of State Property" provided such an opportunity in regional centers as well.

As the auction showed, under these conditions, the demand for Vitebsk real estate is high. 16 participants showed interest in the lot, including representatives of foreign companies. Two single-story capital structures (former warehouse and woodworking shop built in 1980 and 1985) with a total area of almost 630 sq.m, located at 1st Polyarnaya Street (near Keramika OJSC), were put up for auction for 100 thousand rubles each. As a result, the winner was determined at the 79th step of the auctioneer, when the price jumped to 560 million rubles. It is noteworthy that the book value of the assets was about 1 billion rubles.

The new owner of the real estate became the Vitebsk LLC "Sofiatorg", specializing in wholesale trade and freight transportation. According to its representative Larisa Merkulova, the company acquired the real estate for business development and in the future does not exclude the possibility of modernizing the production site. According to the terms of the auction, the new owner undertakes to use the real estate for organizing entrepreneurial activities, while having the right to demolish the acquired structures for the construction of a new facility.

According to Mikhail Pavlyuchkov, the continuous improvement of the regulatory framework for managing unused property allows for increased involvement of such real estate in circulation, and also stimulates business initiative and investment activity. In addition, the sale of state property provides an opportunity to create jobs, increase budget revenues, and new owners improve territories and put abandoned buildings in order, he added.

In January-June, the Vitebskoblimushchestvo fund held 22 successful auctions, at which more than 30 real estate objects were sold. Over 6 billion rubles will be transferred to budgets of various levels. In total, over 740 buildings and structures are to be involved in circulation in the Vitebsk region, including more than 300 that are already on display or will be sold at auctions. The practice of selling real estate for one basic unit in Vitebsk will continue – about 10 objects are already ready for potential buyers under these conditions. By the end of the year, the Vitebskoblimushchestvo fund expects to earn at least 30 billion rubles from the sale of real estate.

Sergey Antonov, "Vitebskiye Vesti"