Every 8th investment project in Vitebsk oblast envisages startup of new manufacture

Every 8th investment project implemented in small towns of Vitebsk envisages starting up a new manufacture, deputy head of the economy committee of the Vitebsk oblast executive committee Zinaida Koroleva told BelTA. There are 400 projects on the state programme of small town development in the Vitebsk oblast. The total investments in the projects amount to Br 800 billion. The new manufactures are mainly oriented on processing of local raw materials, including timber and agricultural products. This year small towns started implementing 250 investment projects. New companies will be set up under 22 projects. Thus, in the town of Kopys of the Orsha region a cheese making factory and a woodworking company will be set up. Some 123 people are involved in the two projects. The cheese making facility has already produced 245.6 tonnes of cheese to the tune of 1.7 billion. In the town of Orekhovsk of the Orsha region a sawmill was set up with a turbine powered by local fuels. According to Zinaida Koroleva, local companies have been gradually launching the production of new goods and integrating with bigger companies. For instance, in the town of Bigosovo of the Verkhnedvinsk region the JSC Invet started producing fuel tanks from polymer materials for Minsk Tractor Works, Gomselmash, Minsk Automobile Works. According to the data provided by the economy committee, small towns of the oblast have already utilized Br 243.7 billion investments or 92.1% of the annual total. In January-October 2007, the industrial output in small towns grew by 6.4%.