Vitebsk river workers were the first in the country to open navigation

Vitebsk is home to one of the ten river ports in Belarus.

Four enterprises servicing waterways on the Dnieper, Berezina, Sozh, Pripyat, Western Dvina, Neman, Mukhavets rivers and on the Dnieper-Bug Canal usually open navigation based on weather conditions, and the date is set annually by the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

This spring, Vitebsk river workers started earlier than everyone else. True, barges and motor ships are still moored: due to last year's summer drought and the almost complete absence of snow and ice cover in winter, the water level in the Western Dvina remains quite low.

But, as Anatoly Leonov, director of the Vitebskvodtrans branch of RUESP Dnepro-Bugsky Waterway, reported, sand extraction began on March 5. More than 10 thousand tons of it were unloaded ashore in the Kurino area, and for a week now, work has been in full swing in the Kukovyachino area – more than 3 thousand tons have been extracted here.

Contracts have been concluded with the Chinese, who are building a hydroelectric power station near Vitebsk. Sand consumers will also include many construction organizations, with a particularly large volume shipped to the DSK team – 8 thousand tons per month.

Natalia Drozdova, "Vitbichi"