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Belarus’
GDP Grows by 9.7% in January 2007
In January
2007, Belarus’ GDP grew by 9.7 percent over the same period last year,
according to the Ministry of Statistics and Analysis.
The
industrial output increased by 8.5 percent. The production of consumer goods
surged by 11 percent, foodstuffs - by 6.4 percent, nonfoods – by 14 percent.
The President of Belarus Approves Measures to Secure Foreign
Trade Surplus in 2007
President
of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has recently approved measures developed by
the Government and the National Bank of Belarus to secure a foreign trade
surplus in 2007.
In
accordance with a goal for 2007, the foreign trade surplus should be at
least as large as $500 million.
In order to
secure the foreign trade surplus, the Government and the National Bank of
Belarus developed a joint program of measures. The program provides for
every company to pursue an effective foreign trade policy. In line with this
year’s national social and economic development goals the export growth rate
should exceed the import growth rate by at least 5 percentage points. It is
supposed to be the key result of efforts Belarusian companies, ministries
and state agencies will exercise.
Meanwhile,
the Government and the National Bank intend to do everything possible to
assist the export of Belarusian merchandise, create a distribution network,
explore new markets, and hit targets of the import substitution program.
Starting
this year, the goal is on the list of the most important national social and
economic development indicators. Outlook of foreign trade of Belarus in 2006
is available at
www.belarusembassy.org.
The Prime Minister Says State Should Minimize Its
Involvement in Small and Medium-Sized Business
The state
should minimize its involvement in small and medium-sized business, Prime
Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorskiy said in a meeting last week focuses on
the draft employment program for 2007.
He noted,
the development of small and medium-sized business is one of the priorities
of the socio-economic development program. “We should be very attentive to
the issues related to the development of this sector of economy, the Prime
Minister said. – It is important that we create most comfortable environment
for the development of transparent business, for the taxes to be paid in
full. We need to promote the creation of such jobs in the country”.
BelAZ Makes Towage Vehicle for Heavy Dump Trucks
Belarusian
Automobile Plant (BelAZ) has made a pilot specimen of the towage vehicle
BelAZ 74306. The vehicle is capable of towing heavy dump trucks with the
payload capacity of 320-360 tons, a representative of the company recently
informed reporters.
The vehicle
has passed acceptance tests of the company and has been sent for real-life
tests to OAO Mezhdurechye (Kemerovo oblast, the Russian Federation). The
truck’s design implements a Roll Over Protection System and a Falling Object
Protective Structure.
The choice
of BelAZ towage vehicles has been expanded with other novelties. The company
used BelAZ 7547 dump truck to make a vehicle for towing foreign-made trucks
with the payload capacity of up to 60 tons. The company has designed and is
assembling a towage vehicle based on a 55-tonne dump truck. Mine dump trucks
have been used to design towage vehicles for heavier broken vehicles with
the payload capacity of 90-220 tons.
Belarusian
Automobile Plant has made and is testing a pilot specimen of a towage
vehicle BelAZ 74131. The company is completing assembling a pilot specimen
of a towage vehicle BelAZ 74470, with plans to make BelAZ 7455B. The latter
was designed using agreed technical requirements and will be shipped to
Zanzegur Copper and Molybdenum Mining Company (Armenia).
Apart from
its core business, i.e. a production mine of dump trucks, the company also
offers specialized vehicles. In 2006 BelAZ upgraded batch-produced towage
vehicles following customers’ orders. The company has improved performance
parameters of the trucks, installed additional equipment to ensure safe
transportation and attachment to towed vehicles. All safety and
environmental protection requirements have been met.
In 2006
Belarusian Automobile Plant increased the production by 10.3 percent in
comparison with 2005. The export went up by 13 percent. The company uses a
system for managing the quality of design, production and maintenance of
mine dump trucks, special vehicles, automobiles and road construction
machines compliant with Belarus’ ISO 9001 2001 requirements and
international standards DIN EN ISO 9001:2000. The Government of Belarus
awarded the company for quality achievements in 2006 for introducing highly
effective quality management solutions and using the solutions to produce
competitive make.
Belarus
and Microsoft to Launch IT Academy Project in 2007
In 2007,
the Belarusian High-Tech Park (HTP) will team up with Microsoft to launch a
project on the creation of an IT academy, Alexander Martinkevich, HTP Deputy
Director, told during the ceremony of awarding the winners of the Collegiate
Programming Winter Cup for 2006-2007.
The
creation of an academy is one of the priorities in the activity of the
High-Tech Park because today, as never before, there is a need of teaching
professionals in the IT sphere,” he said.
According
to the Deputy Director, the IT academy will specialize in enhancing the
qualifications of graduates of Belarusian higher education establishments
who graduate with degrees in technical sciences. Also the academy is to hold
courses of enhancing qualifications and retaining of the faculty. Leading
world companies are to be invited to participate in the project. To learn
more about the HTP, please visit
http://www.park.by/en/.
Sweden
and Belarus Cooperate in Field of Advanced Bio-Fuel Technologies
Advanced
technologies for recycling waste and producing bio-fuel developed by the
Swedish company SVEDAB will be introduced in Belarus. In Belarus the
investment proposal has been promoted by the National Technology Transfer
Center /NTTC/, Vitaliy Kuzin, Chief of the NTTC marketing department,
recently told to reporters. To learn more about NTCC, please visit
http://ictt.by/eng/.
He has
noted that the matter concerns the production of alcohol as a bio-fuel, the
use of wood waste to produce pellets, the use of biogas plants and the
production of biogas fuels from municipal and domestic waste and dung.
This year
Sweden will start building a tire processing plant using technologies
designed by the A.V. Lykov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute of the National
Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
Belarus
Oil Refineries: Naftan and Polimir to Funnel Over $1.5 Billion Into
Production Development
In the near
future Naftan and Polimir will funnel over $1.5 billion into production
development, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko told
reporters after the recent meeting of the commission for enhancing
competitive power of Belarus’ economy held in the City of Vitebsk.
In
particular, within the next four years Naftan will funnel $590 million into
the upgrade of its production facilities including $243 million in 2007.
During 5-6 years Polimir will have to attract $800 million worth of
investments to set up a new production.
According
to the First Deputy Prime Minister, a considerable volume of investments
will help the companies reduce energy intensity and make more competitive
and popular products. |
