Aleksandr Lukashenko hears out report on construction of second ring road around Minsk
The construction of the second ring road around
Minsk will be continued. The decision was made as the matter was discussed with
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on 28 February.
The head of state reminded that when the decision in
favor of the second ring road was made, it was agreed to make the most of the
existing roads, like the Moscow-bound highway. The scheme of the ring road was
also agreed. “We admitted that we badly need this project because the traffic is
overwhelming in Minsk. I do not mean that the traffic will keep increasing by
leaps and bounds, like it was some years ago. No. I think that people who wanted
to buy a car bought it before we introduced the car duty; those who are richer
bought new cars. Therefore, there will not by any sharp increase in the number
of vehicles,” Aleksandr Lukashenko believes.
At the same time the President noted that the number of car
users has been increasing worldwide, and Belarus is no exception. “More than
that, the transit through Belarus has been on the rise, too. The transit goes
from west to east. Everything indicates that the traffic in this direction will
increase dramatically and it will go through Minsk,” Aleksandr Lukashenko
said.
The Belarusian President noted
that it is getting more and more difficult for the existing ring road to handle
the increasing traffic in Minsk, including the traffic in transit. The President
believes that the construction of the second ring road will help the
environmental situation in the capital city. “We should immediately start
constructing the second ring road around Minsk, so that the city will be able to
breathe, so that the two million people, or a quarter of Belarus’ population,
living in the capital city would not suffer from it. We should understand that
pollution is the reason for all diseases. We will have to spend huge money on
treating people. We should keep it in mind. The bottom line is – we will poison
Minskers if we fail to build this highway in the next several years,” the head
of state said.
Belarusian Prime
Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich reported that the new ring road will be 85
kilometers long. The first 44 kilometers will be constructed during the first
phase of the project. This section will connect Ostroshitsky Gorodok with
Aksakovshchina. According to the Premier, there are no reasons, except for the
financial one, to reject the ring road construction project.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the project will not be
that expensive, because some sections of the future ring road are already in
place. “If we take this project under control and spend money wisely, we will be
able to materialize it. Difficulties are unavoidable, money is never abundant;
however I would like to remind you how much some people complained of the
transport tax. Keep in mind that this tax should be channeled into road
construction and nothing else, only roads. Otherwise, the criticism is
justified. The government will be held accountable for that. All the money
raised from collecting the transport tax should be invested in roads,” the
President said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that the highways in the
direction of Grodno and Vitebsk should be put in order, like it was done with
the highways between Minsk and other oblast capitals, as well as the Belarusian
section of the Odessa-Saint Petersburg highway.
Mikhail Myasnikovich noted that the second ring road will fall
into the first category, which implies that it will be able to handle more than
10,000 vehicles daily. To compare, the throughput capacity of the existing ring
road is about 90,000 vehicles daily.