The construction of a plant for the production of special vehicles will begin in the FEZ "Vitebsk" in 2011

May 6, Vitebsk / Sergey Kotovets - BELTA /. Belarusian-Russian JV "Grandiscar" plans to start construction of a special vehicle production plant in the FEZ "Vitebsk" this year. This was announced today to journalists by the company's director, Yury Lyubimov, according to a BELTA correspondent. The investment project of JV "Grandiscar", which is a resident of the Vitebsk FEZ, provides for the creation of a special-purpose vehicle production with an annual capacity of up to 5,000 units at one of the FEZ sites in the regional center. For these purposes, the Belarusian-Russian tandem of founders plans to invest about $15 million over five years. At the first stage, investors organized the production of special equipment in rented premises. In parallel, the construction of its own plant with a total area of about 5,000 sq.m. will begin. The production process is based on the technology of large-node assembly. In total, the Russian founder has developed more than 70 modifications of vehicles and is ready to transfer these developments for their production at its Belarusian enterprise. For now, "Grandiscar's" production portfolio includes the production of ambulances, special vehicles for law enforcement agencies, minibuses, and a number of other configurations based on Volkswagen and Ford chassis, and in the future, Iveco and Belarusian automotive brands. In 2011, "Grandiscar" will produce about 300 vehicles, mainly for Belarusian customers. In addition to Belarus, the company intends to enter the Russian market and other CIS countries. According to Yury Lyubimov, the issue of creating a mobile hospital and a specialized medical salon-office based on a MAZ chassis is currently being worked out. This concerns the development of bus interior configurations for providing specialized medical care at the scene of major accidents and other incidents. In Vitebsk, the company presented the first ambulances and a specialized laboratory vehicle manufactured to order for the State Border Committee of Belarus. The FEZ "Vitebsk" was established in August 1999. Currently, 38 investment projects are being implemented in the FEZ. More than 60% of the residents of the FEZ "Vitebsk" are joint and foreign enterprises established with the participation of investors from 13 countries, including Germany, Poland, the USA, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Russia, Canada, Holland, and Israel. The industrial potential of the FEZ is based on enterprises operating in the fields of mechanical engineering, woodworking, food, chemical, fuel, and light industries.-0-