Ministry of Transport and World Bank signed an agreement in Minsk on November 19 to grant Belarus a loan of $ 150 million. The funds will go to the project "Improvement and modernization of the road." The document was signed by Minister of Transport and Communications of Belarus Ivan Scherbo and head of the World Bank in Belarus Ivan Velev.
The decision on granting the loan was made by the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank on November 11, 2010. The aim of this project is to assist in the development of transport infrastructure of strategic transit corridor and the introduction of electronic toll system, BelTA informs.
The first phase of the project, financed by $131 million, provides for the reconstruction of some road sections with two lanes between Minsk and Babruisk with total length of 53 kilometers. A highway with four lanes is going to be created. Reconstructed road section is part of the Trans-European Transport Corridor IX, connecting the Black Sea with the Baltic countries.
As noted by Ivan Scherbo, a small stretch of road — 53 km — will be reconstructed in accordance with the first category of European standards. The road will be provided with high-quality fabric and infrastructure so that to meet all necessary conditions for transport security.
According to Ivan Velev, this is the first road project of the World Bank in Belarus. It confirms again the constructive cooperation between Belarus and the WB. «It has become the biggest investment project of the World Bank in Belarus since 1992,» Ivan Velev said.
The project is very profitable, it will positively affect the external balance and the trade turnover of Belarus, its transit attractiveness; create new jobs and pass the majority of traffic through Belarus,» the head of the mission said.
According to Telegraf, a loan is granted by the World Bank for 15 years with 5-year-deferred payments. Project’s implementation will start in March 2011 and will take 4 years.
