Working trip to Pukhovichi District

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke in positive terms about the potential of the investment project to launch an advanced full-cycle agricultural facility which is being implemented by the Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation (BNBC) in Pukhovichi District during his working trip to Minsk Oblast on 10 August.

The head of state was informed about the progress in the construction of production venues as part of the investment project. Plans are in place to launch the facilities of the agricultural complex in September-December, ahead of schedule. These include a grain storage facility, four factories producing compound feed for cattle, poultry, swine and fish, a premix-making plant. Plans have been made to launch some infrastructure objects at the same time.

It is also planned to launch the production of amino acids in March 2021. This is a non-stop enterprise which will be operational 330 days a year. The products of this enterprise already have a market. There is an agreement with a global trader, which is the largest supplier of such products on the European market.

The so-called prospective development project BNBC-3 will be launched by the summer of 2024. It envisages the launch of production lines for vitamins, amino acids, starch and glucose products. This will be the brand-new production of vitamins (B2, B12) and new kinds of amino acids (valine, leucine, isoleucine) in Belarus and the CIS. “Launching the production of medicines and vitamins is an achievement comparable to reaching to outer space. We are almost there. They have started project development. This third line will be built within three years,” the President told reporters after the inspection of the facility.

The Chinese company CITIC Group is a general contractor. According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, construction works continued even amid the complicated epidemiological situation. As a result, builders did not fall behind the schedule and are now even ahead of it. “It was a blessing in disguise. Coronavirus stopped the economy all over world, and it turned out that the world’s strongest corporation [CITIC] was working only in Belarus. We were fortunate to choose the right tactics not to close the country. Therefore, in three years we will come here and see a cosmic production facility,” the head of state said.

“Only a few countries have such production facilities - four countries, and Belarus is one of them. It is more than outer space. We have been involved in space exploration since Soviet times, and this is a brand-new manufacturing sector operating on domestic raw materials. Today the BNBC is ready to buy 700,000 tonnes of grain at international prices,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

Moreover, the BNBC is going to establish direct contacts with Belarusian agricultural manufacturers in the future, grow and process its own raw materials, and engage in other related activities. “This is good for our farmers. In general, this is a very powerful locomotive for the agricultural industry. And not only the agricultural industry. We should not forget that they will set up a bio-institute here,” the President noted.

The head of state thanked Chinese partners for their input in the investment project. “This production would have never existed without a decision of [China President] Xi Jinping. This is a gift from the Chinese people and him personally,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.