Opinions & Interviews

BORISOV, 5 May (BelTA) – Belarus has finally got its people’s car, President Alexander Lukashenko said talking to the BelGee Company staff on 3 May, BelTA learned.

After visiting the joint Belarusian-Chinese company producing Geely cars, Alexander Lukashenko stressed that this was the place where the Belarusian production of motor cars was rising. Belarus established the manufacture of trucks, agricultural vehicles and public transport long time ago. The country has finally launched the production of motor cars. “We have learnt to do everything: buses, trolleybuses, trams, but we have not got a motor car,” the President noted speaking about the national car production project.

The joint company BelGee has been steadily developing today. The company now uses manufacturing premises of Borisov-based OAO Avtogidrousilitel for SKD assembling. Last year the enterprise assembled about 2,500 cars. In H1 2014 the company produces more than 1,600 cars. In January-March 2014 the profitability of sales made up 8.9%. The enterprise netted Br16.5 billion.

“The next step is the construction of a more powerful plant near Borisov (between Zhodino and Borisov),” the President said assessing the prospects of car manufacturing in Belarus. It is expected that the construction of a new car-producing plant will be divided into two stages, with an estimated volume of investment reaching $500 million. The first stage envisages a construction of a plant with the annual capacity of 60,000 cars by 1 January 2017. By the time localization of components should reach 30% and make up 50% by July 2018. Alexander Lukashenko stressed that the development of the national automobile manufacturing would give an additional impetus to the evolvement of many other industrial sectors.