Transport and Logistics in Belarus
Belarus is the crossroads of centuries-old trade routes from Russia to western Europe, and the Baltic to the Black Sea. As a result the country has developed a good transport infrastructure and it is determined to build on this strength, predominantly through foreign investment.
“Belarus is a very important logistics hub and I think it’s a good opportunity for Belarus to make money."
Vladimir Rybolovlev, head of Bosch in Belarus
Transport and logistics firms feature heavily in the government’s privatisation programme, with railways, road-building and maintenance companies, and shipping lines on the list. Even the Pinsk and Gomel shipyards, and the state’s air freight company, Transaviaexport Airline, feature. The Government also wants to redevelop its inland water network and build up a commercial shipping fleet.
Specific investment projects include plans to upgrade the Belarusian stretch of the Moscow-Paris railway network and the Warsaw to Moscow motorway, as well as many regional roads and by-passes.
In contrast to its transport network, Belarus’ logistics industry is still under-developed, with several multinational firms including Coca-Cola and McDonalds establishing their own warehouses to meet their needs.
In response there is a strong pipeline of logistics construction projects. In late 2009 the first phase of a 73 hectare logistics centre, built by an Iranian firm, was due to open in Minsk Free Economic Zone. A US $300 mln development between Belarus’ KMK Logistics and the Antwerp Development Company, from Belgium, is expected to open on a 100 hectare site near Minsk’s international airport, catering for road, rail and air freight.
In addition to these developments, there are four projects encompassing 90,000 square metres at the design stage around Minsk with private companies encouraged to invest. The authorities in Belarus have also planned to grant land permits for logistics centres at nominal prices in order to boost the sector.
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