Vitebskoblgaz is establishing a joint venture with a European company for the production of peat pellets

October 29, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Production unitary enterprise "Vitebskoblgaz" is creating a joint venture for the production of peat fuel pellets in the Dokshitsy district, Deputy General Director of "Vitebskoblgaz" Konstantin Pochepko told a BELTA correspondent. The partner of Vitebsk gas workers will be a Western European company ready to invest funds in the purchase of specialized equipment for the production of pellets and to sell the finished fuel in EU countries. The foreign partner will own 75-80% of the authorized capital. The implementation of this project is carried out in accordance with the state program "Peat". It is planned that the joint venture will be registered as early as December of this year, the launch of the main production facilities is scheduled for the end of 2010, and reaching the design capacity is planned for the first quarter of 2011. The new enterprise will be able to produce 25 thousand tons of peat pellets per year. It will be located on the basis of a peat mining enterprise in Krulevshchina. A significant part of the equipment is of Belarusian production. According to Konstantin Pochepko, this will make the project cheaper by almost 1.5 times. The Dokshitsy peat deposit is the third in a row managed by Vitebskoblgaz. The enterprise also mines peat in the Shumilino and Chashniksky districts. For 9 months of this year, 77 thousand tons of peat have been harvested. The range of peat products includes baled peat, lump peat, and nutrient soil. Since the beginning of the year, peat products worth $826 thousand have been exported. Foreign supplies are made to Bulgaria, France, Germany, Russia, Poland, Turkey, Latvia, and Lithuania. -0-