Europeans to help Belarus modernize road to Vilnius for $110 mln
MARYIA VAITOVICH, Euroradio
26 July 2019, 12:47
On July 24, the European Investment Bank signed two agreements with Belarus on financing new projects, Vice-President of the Bank Vazil Hudák said at the meeting with journalists.
The first project will concern the modernization of the M7 road with increasing capacity," says the EIB representative. "This is the section that connects Minsk with Vilnius. The amount of funding for this project will be $110 million. The second project concerns the modernization of the water treatment system worth €66 million to improve the quality of water services. Thus, up to 500 thousand people in the country will have access to cleaner water".
Vazil Hudák noted that after signing the agreements the number of joint EIB projects with Belarus will reach four. The amount of funding will be about 335 million euros.
The main task of the bank is to invest in projects combatting climate change
The bank's management plans to continue cooperation with Belarus. Among the issues that are being discussed with the national and city authorities are the development of clean transport (mainly railways), municipal infrastructure, the private sector and the energy sector.
According to Vazil Hudák, the recent elections to the European Parliament have demonstrated that the Europeans support those parties that are ready to combat climate change and its consequences. In Europe, there is a general greening of projects. The EIB said it is ready to become a climate bank for the EU. By 2025, it plans to increase the proportion of its project portfolio which aims to combat climate change from 25 percent to 50 percent. At the same time, the average annual level of financing allocated by the bank is from 70 to 75 billion euros. By 2050, the amount of investment in climate work, or climate change projects, will have reached 1 trillion euros.
"While studying possible projects and initiatives in Belarus, we pay special attention to those projects that contain climate or environmental aspects. We are not only a European family, but also a family that is united by a common climate," said EIB Vice-President.
Head of the National Bank: Belarus needs structural reforms
Talking to journalists, Vazil Hudák spoke about his meeting with Chairman of the National Bank of Belarus Pavel Kallaur.
He said that the current level of economic performance in the country had reached the maximum value and was equal to the maximum possible economic potential of the country. According to Kallaur, if Belarus plans to develop faster and raise the level of GDP up to 2.8%, structural reforms should be undertaken for this purpose. The EIB understands that the reforms are a sovereign decision of Belarus, and they require efforts. The bank is ready to provide support: to provide expert knowledge accumulated in the EU, to tell how to improve labor productivity through reforms, to share technologies and know-how.
"We recognize the huge potential that exists in a country with such a rich history and excellent level of education," said Vazil Hudak. " We see how actively the IT sector is developing, which unites a large number of global international companies. We believe that this potential should be developed".
Since 2009, the European Investment Bank in six Eastern Partnership countries has mastered projects worth 9 billion euros. Twelve million people receive quality water and wastewater services; 160,000 households now have improved access to electricity; 370,000 new jobs have been created in small and medium-sized businesses. Today, the main task of the EIB in Belarus is to attract investment in new projects and improve the quality of life of people.
26 July 2019, 12:47
Vice-President of the European Investment Bank Vazil Hudak / Maria Vaytovich, Euroradio
The first project will concern the modernization of the M7 road with increasing capacity," says the EIB representative. "This is the section that connects Minsk with Vilnius. The amount of funding for this project will be $110 million. The second project concerns the modernization of the water treatment system worth €66 million to improve the quality of water services. Thus, up to 500 thousand people in the country will have access to cleaner water".
Vazil Hudák noted that after signing the agreements the number of joint EIB projects with Belarus will reach four. The amount of funding will be about 335 million euros.
The main task of the bank is to invest in projects combatting climate change
The bank's management plans to continue cooperation with Belarus. Among the issues that are being discussed with the national and city authorities are the development of clean transport (mainly railways), municipal infrastructure, the private sector and the energy sector.
According to Vazil Hudák, the recent elections to the European Parliament have demonstrated that the Europeans support those parties that are ready to combat climate change and its consequences. In Europe, there is a general greening of projects. The EIB said it is ready to become a climate bank for the EU. By 2025, it plans to increase the proportion of its project portfolio which aims to combat climate change from 25 percent to 50 percent. At the same time, the average annual level of financing allocated by the bank is from 70 to 75 billion euros. By 2050, the amount of investment in climate work, or climate change projects, will have reached 1 trillion euros.
"While studying possible projects and initiatives in Belarus, we pay special attention to those projects that contain climate or environmental aspects. We are not only a European family, but also a family that is united by a common climate," said EIB Vice-President.
Head of the National Bank: Belarus needs structural reforms
Talking to journalists, Vazil Hudák spoke about his meeting with Chairman of the National Bank of Belarus Pavel Kallaur.
He said that the current level of economic performance in the country had reached the maximum value and was equal to the maximum possible economic potential of the country. According to Kallaur, if Belarus plans to develop faster and raise the level of GDP up to 2.8%, structural reforms should be undertaken for this purpose. The EIB understands that the reforms are a sovereign decision of Belarus, and they require efforts. The bank is ready to provide support: to provide expert knowledge accumulated in the EU, to tell how to improve labor productivity through reforms, to share technologies and know-how.
"We recognize the huge potential that exists in a country with such a rich history and excellent level of education," said Vazil Hudak. " We see how actively the IT sector is developing, which unites a large number of global international companies. We believe that this potential should be developed".
Since 2009, the European Investment Bank in six Eastern Partnership countries has mastered projects worth 9 billion euros. Twelve million people receive quality water and wastewater services; 160,000 households now have improved access to electricity; 370,000 new jobs have been created in small and medium-sized businesses. Today, the main task of the EIB in Belarus is to attract investment in new projects and improve the quality of life of people.
