The Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee has signed 34 investment agreements worth about Br490 billion in a year and a half.

April 20, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee has concluded 34 investment agreements worth about Br490 billion over the one and a half years of Decree No. 10 "On Creating Additional Conditions for Investment Activities in the Republic of Belarus," the head of the investment department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's economics committee, Nataliya Saltanovich, told a BELTA correspondent. A third of the agreements, totaling $147 million, were concluded with foreign investors. Among the largest investment projects, the interviewee named the reconstruction of existing and creation of new production capacities at OJSC "Ekomol" in the Orsha district, the construction of a shopping center on Beshenkovichi Highway in Vitebsk by LLC "Tabak-Invest," and the organization of rapeseed processing production by CJSC "GlubokoeBioProdukt." As Nataliya Saltanovich noted, Decree No. 10 has simplified interaction between investors and authorities. For example, when concluding agreements, it is not required to submit a business plan and a comprehensive expert review of the investment project. In April of this year alone, the Regional Executive Committee concluded 6 investment agreements, which are planned to be implemented during 2011-2013. For example, the foreign enterprise "GidroEnergoInvest" intends to build a small hydroelectric power station on the spillway of the "Dolomit" quarry, investing $1.5 million in the project. The joint venture "NTS" will implement the project "Construction and commissioning of a shopping center with an area of 3 thousand sq.m in Vitebsk" with an investment volume of $3.6 million. The private enterprise "MegaOil" plans to build a roadside service facility in the Vitebsk district, which will include a parking lot, a 20-room hotel, a restaurant, and a gas station. The investment volume will be Br15 billion. -0-