Belarus and the Eximbank of China signed credit agreements to finance joint projects of $1.058 billion worth. Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoli Tozik generally described the conditions for granting credits as sufficiently profitable. According to him, these projects are important and relevant for Belarus.
The parties signed an agreement to provide a $654 million loan to build a plant for the production of sulphate bleached pulp on the basis of Svetlogorsk pulp and board plant. CAMC corporation will perform as the Chinese partner. The project cost of construction, which will begin in 2012 and last for two years, amounts to $700 million, BelTA informs.
According to Anatoli Tozik, China’s financing of the remainder of the project cost is currently on the table. The plant’s capacity should reach 400 thousand tons of pulp a year, while Belarus needs 200 thousand tons per year. The Belarusian side is studying the possibility of loan repayment due to pulp supplies to China.
Besides, the parties have agreed to allocate $340 million to finance the reconstruction of the road M-5/E271 Minsk-Homel in Homel-Zhlobin area under the first category parameters, as well as $64 million for the electrification of the railway Homel-Zhlobin-Asipovichy and Zhlobin- Kalinkavichy, primarily Homel-Zhlobin-Asipovichy.
Belarus and the Eximbank of China are now engaged in projects of $5.6 billion worth in total. The bank’s lending support is about $3 billion.
