In the near future Belarus intends to construct a number of water-power plants with total capacity of 230-250MW, said Deputy Energy Minister of Belarus Mikhail Mikhadyuk as he met with European Union reporters in Minsk on 22 July, BelTA has learnt.

Taking into consideration the fact that Belarus is a lowland country, the capacity of the future water-power plants will make up from 17 to 30 MW. The Grodno hydro-electric power station, one of the biggest in the country, is expected to be launched in 2011. The Energy Ministry has signed a contract for the construction of the Polotsk hydro-electric power station. The Vitebsk hydro-electric power station is expected to be constructed on the Zapadnaya Dvina River, the Nemnovskaya hydro-electric power station – on the Neman River.

The European Union reporters are supposed to stay in Belarus on a fact-finding tour till 24 July. Thirteen reporters represent mass media from Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom. The visit is supposed to get European Union citizens more familiar with the concrete projects the European Union implements in Belarus as part of the European Neighborhood Policy, said organizers of the visit.

www.belta.by