News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 15 April (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is pleased with the work done to reconstruct the existing passenger terminal of the National Airport Minsk. The President made the relevant statement as he visited the airport on 15 April, BelTA has learned.

“At first sight everything looks normal, dazzling, and beautiful. It is good. But quality and reliability must be also prioritized,” said the head of state.

Alexander Lukashenko was made familiar with how the reconstruction of the passenger terminal proceeds and with the organization of passenger services. The President toured the arrival area (the border checkpoint, the luggage collection area, the customs control station, the arrival and passenger registration areas, the departure area, and the territory around the passenger terminal). The head of state also examined the organization of VIP passenger services. Alexander Lukashenko was interested in details. The President was assured that the airport will have no problems with welcoming the guests of the forthcoming ice hockey world championship that will take place in Minsk in May and with welcoming other passengers. Apart from that, the head of state had an opportunity to examine the operation of private and state-run duty-free shops and the comparison did not favor the state company. Alexander Lukashenko also reminded the workers about their social responsibility.

The enterprise National Airport Minsk comprises two airports at present — one inside Minsk and one outside the city. The latter was commissioned over 30 years ago and is the country’s main airport that handles up to 97% of the passenger and freight traffic. The total area of the passenger terminal is nearly 80,000m2, with 82% of the area (65,000m2) earmarked for reconstruction. By 1 April the airport reconstructed the VIP area and the complex dedicated to aviation operations the ice hockey world championship requires. The total area of the arrival lounges has been increased, additional check-in desks for passenger registration have been opened as well as additional workstations for insurance agents, 11 border control stations, customs control stations. Communications and equipment to sort luggage has been installed.

Thanks to the reconstruction the airport will be able to service up to 5.8 million passengers per annum and about 29,000 passengers per day at its peak capacity. The airport now has two customs control areas that allow servicing up to 1,000 passengers from six aircraft at once. One check-in area for passenger registration with 22 workstations is now available as well. As from 22 February 2013 the Minsk airport office of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry can issue visas to foreigners regardless of whether the departure country has a Belarusian diplomatic mission or not. Thus, the necessary infrastructure to welcome foreign participants and guests of the ice hockey world championship is available.

Alexander Lukashenko was informed that over the last few years the number of passengers and the volume of cargoes the airport services have been rising. In 2013 the airport serviced 2.19 million passengers while in January-March 2014 the figure grew by 10%. Passengers can reach Minsk by bus from Minsk’s central bus station. The bus schedule is coordinated with the flight schedule of the airport. Plans have been made to enable railway service to the airport from November 2014. Belarusian Railways has already acquired three new-type trains for the line. The travel time will be under 50 minutes.

“I didn’t set out to audit the facility and find any shortcomings. There are other people to do it. But time will tell what has been done right and what is lacking,” the head of state said to sum up results of his visit to the airport.

At the same time the President mentioned that people responsible for drawbacks will have to “answer for their crimes all the way”. “Because nothing new has been invented here. There are very advanced airports in the world and there are average ones. You just have to pick one variant and work on it,” remarked Alexander Lukashenko.

“It seems to me you seriously examined all the options, chose the best one and tried to accomplish something with our abilities and conditions in mind,” added the President.

Alexander Lukashenko warned the general contractor in charge of the reconstruction — OAO Grodnopromstroy — that the rest of the work must be done as impeccably. “Auditors are aplenty, I get reports about major shortcomings from various sources. Therefore, don’t smear your honor, do a decent job the way you can,” said the head of state. “Later on we will examine everyone’s efforts. We don’t want things going bad the way of Slutsk meat factories and flax factories. Things like that should be stopped in time,” added the President. The general contractor agreed that there had been some shortcomings in construction efforts but they had been fixed since.