Opinions & Interviews

Georgy Kuznetsov: Law on concessions will encourage investments in Belarus

MINSK, 20 December (BelTA) – The law on concessions will encourage investments in Belarus. The statement was made by Mr Georgy Kuznetsov, Chairman of the State Property Committee, as he presented the bill on concessions before the House of Representatives of the National Assembly on 20 December, BelTA has learned.

The bill is designed to improve the legal regulation of relations involved in giving concession rights to state property objects. It is meant to create additional stimuli to attract investors to this business. Efforts of government agencies in this field will also be stepped up, remarked Georgy Kuznetsov. “The state is interested in providing concession rights because investments in social and economic projects will be made by private investors at the expense of one-time concession payments and taxes on the operation of the investors,” said the Chairman of the State Property Committee. Thus, granting a concession will replenish the central state budget and local budgets, with jobs created. Meanwhile, the objects of the concession will still be owned by the state.

Concessioners will be interested in it because they will be granted the right to use objects, which are the exclusive domain of the state or are owned only by the state.

So far only one concession contract has been signed. The contract has been signed by the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry and involves the surveying and extraction of shale deposits. Georgy Kuznetsov believes that up till now no proper legislation has existed in Belarus, only negotiations and talks have been held. Once the law is adopted, government agencies will tackle these matters more courageously, remarked the official. “Local government agencies and investors will have a clearer understanding of how to go about it,” he remarked.

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