Belarus’ civil engineering industry did feel the arrival of foreign investors in 2009, said Deputy Architecture and Construction Minister Anatoly Nichkasov at the presentation of a review of Belarus’ residential sector on 10 December. The review was prepared by experts and UNECE, it was learned.

The arrival of investors has determined several areas of efforts that should be exercised to allow the investors to implement their plans, said Anatoly Nichkasov. He remarked that at the beginning of the year the Belarusian government okayed over 200 investment projects, which involve foreign direct investments, in various branches of the national economy, including home construction projects.

At present foreign investors participate in several housing construction projects in Belarus. In particular, there are plans to build over 650,000 square meters of housing near Pobeditelei Avenue in Minsk with assistance of a Chinese investor, in particular, a loan from the Chinese Eximbank. A Moscow investment and building company will build a residential district of 400,000 square meters nearby (not far from the Minsk Arena). Homes will be built in Belarus with assistance of Arab investors, too. New homes and the social infrastructure will occupy around 500,000 square meters near the National Library. A golf complex and residential homes that will occupy around 100 hectares will be built in a Minsk suburb using UK and Russian investments.

In addition, the possibility of building a five-star hotel using money of the Sultanate of Oman is under consideration. The hotel is supposed to be built in place of the existing exhibition center BelExpo in Yanka Kupala Street in Minsk. Anatoly Nichkasov said the investor would like to get certain preferences including private ownership of around 5.5 hectares and the real estate to be built there. The investor would also like to build homes next to the future hotel in order to sell them to foreign citizens. According to the official, Belarusian laws disallow such preferences this is why the matter has yet to be negotiated.

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