Vitebsk Region
Vitebsk Region occupies the northern part of the Republic of Belarus, with
40,100 square kilometers or 19.3% of Belarus territory, and 1,3 million
population including 66% urban population. It borders on Latvia, Lithuania
and the Russian Federation, with a borderline almost 1,000 km long. The
largest industrial cities in the region are Polotsk, Novopolotsk and Orsha.
Vitebsk Region can be called the main forestry of Belarus Republic as 38% of
the region's territory is covered by forest and timber reserves are
estimated at 185 million m3, with coniferous forest accounting for 34% (fir
trees - 68%) and small-leaved forest (mostly birch trees) - 43%. Vitebsk
Region accounts for approximately 60% of all birch used for production of
plywood and furniture. But the region itself does not have own plywood
production facilities.
The region annually harvests about 1.5 million ì3 of timber exported to 23
countries in the form of millwork, glued woodblocks, fiber building boards,
wood chipboards, timber, and pulpwood.
The region has 29% of total peat reserves and 3,400 developed peat deposits,
with geological reserves of over 1 billion tons. Lump peat is exported.
Sapropel (silt or sludge) was found in 1430 lakes or 75% of all Belarus
lakes. Sapropel has been extracted since 1989, maximum yearly output is
250,000 tons. The authorities are looking for technologies using sapropel
for production of medicines, construction materials and food additives.
The region has more than 700 million tons of dolomite reserves for
production of mineral fertilizers, with known reserves enough for 80 years
of mining. The republic's only dolomite mill produces mineral fertilizers,
fillers for steelmaking furnaces, and roofing materials.
There are also 200 deposits of clay for the production of bricks and
expanded clay, with total commercial reserves about 70 million m3 and annual
extraction approximating 1 million m3. The region can annually export some
300 million bricks.
90% of the region's territory lies in the zone of Belarus Poozerye (Lake
District) with some 3,000 lakes and more than 500 minor rivers.
There is also the unique natural reserve Berezinsky included in the UNESCO
program for preservation of biological diversity on Earth, the National Park
Braslavsky Lakes, and historical and architectural monument Polotsky.
The region mostly specializes in processing of imported raw materials: oil,
cotton, metals, proteins.
The region has some 3,000 economic entities, of which 330 are large and
medium enterprises employing from 200 to 6,000 people.
The share of public enterprises in the industrial sector is 27%. Fuel and
energy account for 50% of industrial production, utilities for 11.5%, foods
for 9.6%, consumer goods industries for 8.4%, chemical production for 9.8%,
and mechanical engineering for 4.8%.
The region generates on average 46% of the republic's electricity, processes
more than 50% oil, produces 43% of the republic's automobile gasoline, 55%
of diesel fuel, 47% of metal-cutting tools, 100% of sewing machines, 44% of
TV sets, almost 30% of building bricks, 100% of linen, 53% of carpets, 35%
of hosiery, 40% of footwear, 13% of knitwear, 14% of meat and eggs, 15.5% of
milk, 11% of potatoes and 14% of grain.
Vitebsk products are exported to 78 countries, and the annual foreign trade
turnover is about $1.5 billion, i.e. 68% of the republican turnover. There
are opportunities for mutually advantageous cooperation with
instrument-making and tool-making plants, footwear factories, meat-packing
and dairy plants, breweries, flax processing plants.
Vitebsk Region annually attracts some $25-30 million foreign investment in
the form of trade loans for purchase of materials and equipment, leasing of
automobile transport and equipment, contributions to charter funds of
commercial entities 150 companies with foreign
interest operate in the region, with total charter fund approximately $42
million. The main investors (78%) are the firms of Germany, Baltic states,
Poland, Italy and the USA. Germany is also the major creditor as it supplies
key equipment for the processing industries.
Vitebsk Region annually receives about 6,500 tourists, mostly from Poland,
Latvia, Germany and Russia, and about 20,000 leave it for Russia, Ukraine,
Poland, France, Czech Republic and Turkey.
The region's geographic advantages are as follows: the main transport routes
linking such large cities as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw,
and Kiev pass though its territory. They are all situated about 400-600 km
from Vitebsk.
The region's territory is included in two European transport corridors:
Berlin-Warsaw-Minsk-Moscow via Orsha, and
Helsinki-Vitebsk-Gomel-Kiev-Plovdiv.
The air corridor Berlin-Moscow passing daily more than 200 aircraft also
goes over Vitebsk, and there are terminal facilities for reception and
handling of cargoes.
To attract investment for development of businesses based on new
technologies and high-tech businesses, a free economic zone was created with
a territory of 986 hectares, including a former military camp with an
airdrome.
The most important issue in the area of attracting investment and
development of new businesses is the reconstruction and re-equipment of the
Polotsk, Orsha, and Vitebsk breweries, Gluboksky and Lepelsky concentrated
milk factories, OJSC Moloko, Orsha dairy plant.
Foreign investors started the reconstruction of Vitebsk and Orsha breweries
which will be fully re-equipped in three stages and will annually produce
4-5 million decaliters by 2006. The Polotsk brewery shares will be
transferred to Priorbank. Its reconstruction will be financed by Austrian
investors.
To reduce the costs, regional dairy plants will give up some lines of
business and focus on collection and cooling of milk.
The newly created Belarus-Bulgarian company Moltekhnoservice will equip the
local farms with modern cooling tanks with low power consumption.
To ensure regular supplies of dairy products to Braslavsky, Sharkovschinsky,
Gluboksky regions the authorities plan to utilize the idle facilities of
Braslavsky dairy plant for processing milk and continue the reconstruction
of cheese, milk drink and yoghurt production lines at Postavsky dairy plant.
They also plan to attract investment from Riga dairy plant to establish
joint ventures both in Vitebsk Region and in the adjacent regions in Latvia
and Lithuania (Rezekne, Daugavpils, Marianpol).
Full-scale reconstruction projects have been launched at Vitebsk, Gluboksky
and Orsha meat packing plants including the upgrading of ammonia compression
refrigerating machines, installation of new cutting and packing lines and
implementation of ISO-9000 systems.
Miorsky meat packing plant, Orsha and Polotsk dairy plants, Verkhnedvinsky,
Orsha and Tolochinsky butter and cheese making factories will also be
re-equipped with the purpose to raise competitiveness of their products.
To increase the quality and competitiveness of the products of the
woodworking industry, Orsha, Vitebsk, Polotsk, Verkhnedvinsky and Rossonsky
regions have accelerated modernization of technologies and equipment in such
lines as sawing, millwork, production of glued materials. Vitebsk Region is
open to any proposals concerning the widest range of businesses: production
of plywood, laminated wood chipboards, wood fiber boards, furniture, glued
boards and woodwork.
Contact information:
Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee
Economy Department
6, Gogola Str., Vitebsk,
220050
Tel. (375 212) 258013
Fax (375 212) 370850
dalex@tut.by
www.regadmin.vitebsk.by
