The program for the development of industry in the Vitebsk region until 2015 needs to be revised - A. Kosinets

April 22, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. The development program for the industrial complex of the Vitebsk region until 2015 needs to be revised and its implementation period shortened. This was stated by the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee Alexander Kosinets today at a meeting of the Regional Executive Committee dedicated to the results of the region's national economy in the first quarter, according to a BELTA correspondent. "If we modernize enterprises within two to three years (instead of five), it will give us the opportunity to get a competitive product, otherwise we will be too late," the head of the region emphasized. In the near future, it is necessary to revise all business plans of enterprises included in the program and ensure their implementation in the shortest possible time. This will allow, among other things, to reduce the share of the petrochemical industry in the total volume of industrial production. According to Alexander Kosinets, the economic realities faced by the Vitebsk region in the first quarter require the intensification of the development of machine-building, automotive, machine-tool, wood-processing and light industries, and a number of other sectors. A positive example, according to the head of the region, is the meat and dairy industry, in the development of which about Br140 billion was invested in 2009 alone, and the same amount is planned for this year. "As a result, we will have a practically new processing industry, which will allow it to be competitive, including in foreign markets," he noted. At the same time, for industrial enterprises as a whole, the depreciation of fixed assets is currently over 70%, and in machine-tool construction it exceeds 90%, Alexander Kosinets stated. Based on the results of the first quarter, the growth rate of industrial production in the Vitebsk region was 85.2% compared to the same period last year, consumer goods - 109.7%, with food products - 112.9%, and non-food products - 106.1%. -0-