Investment in the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone has exceeded $520 million over the period of the implementation of the project, First Deputy Director General of Industrial Park Development Company Kirill Koroteyev told BelTA.
“A total of $526.4 million was invested in the project from its start to December 2019. The budget expenses made up 4.5%, or $24.5 million.
These funds were used to build a public road, a fire depot, a communication network and a gas supply network to the park's borders. The budget revenues from the activities in the park (including contractors) exceeded $40 million,” Kirill Koroteyev said.
Summing up the results of 2019, Kirill Koroteyev said that the construction of the main infrastructure facilities of the first stage (on the area of 851 hectares) had been completed. “This year we will start the second stage of the park development on the total area of 860 hectares. The focus will be on the development of infrastructure for the multi-modal logistics terminal. In early 2020 it is planned to register a joint company, an operator of the future terminal. Its construction is expected to begin in mid 2020,” he said.
The number of park residents has increased 2.6 times since the start of 2018. “Today, in the Great Stone there are 60 residents from 15 countries, including 33 from the People's Republic of China, 15 set up with the participation of companies from Austria, Germany, Israel, Canada, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, the United States, Switzerland, and Estonia, and 12 set up by Belarusian companies,” Kirill Koroteyev said. By the end 2020, in his words, at least 80 residents will be registered in the park with the total of $1.5 billion in investment. 30 residents are expected to launch their activity. The number of park workers will total 3,000 specialists.