The Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee has concluded 22 investment agreements worth Br1.3 trillion since the beginning of the year.

August 21, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Since the beginning of the current year, the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee has concluded 22 investment agreements worth Br1.3 trillion in accordance with Decree No. 10 "On Creating Additional Conditions for Investment Activities in the Republic of Belarus," Svetlana Medvedskaya, Head of the Investment and Innovation Department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Economy Committee, told a BELTA correspondent. The project implementation periods are set until 2019. In total, since Decree No. 10 came into force (effective August 6, 2009. - BELTA Note), 91 investment agreements worth Br3.6 trillion have been concluded in the region. Thus, one-third of the amount of signed agreements fell on the current year, the interviewee emphasized. The intensification of fruitful cooperation with investors in the region, including foreign ones, has been facilitated by both the holding of international investment and innovation forums and the strengthening of economic, cultural, and educational ties between the region and regions of other countries. Foreign partners have shown interest in projects in the meat and dairy and food industries, in the garment industry, and in the deep processing of wood and peat for the production of fuel pellets. For example, a Russian company, together with the Verkhnedvinsk butter and cheese factory, is creating a joint venture "Verkhniy Lug" and is starting to produce "Mozzarella" type cheese. The total investment will be Br21 billion. About 95% of the products will be exported to the Russian Federation. The Swedish company "Vireo Energy AB" is creating installations for obtaining landfill gas and producing electricity and heat from it at landfills for solid municipal waste in the Tolochinsky, Orshansky, and Vitebsk districts. In the Gluboksky district, the construction of the "Plissa" health and tourist complex is underway, with about Br17.5 billion already invested. In addition, large-scale projects are being implemented in the region, which are significant not only for the region's economy but also for Belarus as a whole. For example, an investment agreement was signed between the Ministry of Industry, OJSC "Zavod 'Legmash'," and Manuli Rubber Industries s.p.a. for the organization of high-pressure hose production, and a joint venture was established in Orsha. The declared investment volume is over $4 million. Based on the Orsha Aircraft Repair Plant, with investments from companies in Ukraine, Belarus, and the Russian Federation, the implementation of an investment project for modernizing the technological base for the repair and maintenance of helicopter and aircraft equipment and the construction of a transport and logistics center in Bolbasovo has begun. With the participation of foreign capital, projects are being implemented in the energy sector: the construction of a cascade of hydroelectric power stations on the Western Dvina has begun, and a 427 MW combined cycle gas turbine plant is under construction at the Lukomlskaya State District Power Station. Currently, the regional executive committee, together with foreign investors, is working on projects to create transport and logistics centers in the area of Vitebsk Airport and the "Grigorovshchina" border crossing in the Verkhnedvinsky district. Economic entities of the Vitebsk region maintain foreign economic relations with more than 100 countries worldwide and all regions of the Russian Federation. By the end of the current year, the region plans to organize outbound investment and innovation forums in Moscow and the Moscow region, in Smolensk, Kaluga, and St. Petersburg. Decree No. 10 of August 6, 2009, "On Creating Additional Conditions for Investment Activities in the Republic of Belarus" establishes rules for both Belarusian and foreign investors that facilitate the commencement of investment projects in Belarus. It enshrines the responsibility of investors for fulfilling their obligations. Investment agreements clearly define the objects, volumes, and terms of investment. General preferences for projects implemented under investment agreements are stipulated. The decree enshrines the mandatory conditions for concluding investment agreements and provides for their expansion based on the industry focus and specifics of the investment project. Taking into account the practice of implementing investment projects in Belarus, investors who have concluded investment agreements are offered general preferences such as granting land plots for lease without auction; phased processing of necessary documents for land allocation simultaneously with construction on occupied lands and construction of facilities with parallel design of subsequent construction stages; import of technological equipment and spare parts for facilities related to the implementation of the investment project without paying customs duties and value-added tax. -0-