The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) stepped up its support for Belarus with €10 million loan under a new energy financing facility launched in the country earlier this year.
The latest funding is a loan of €10 million to Bank BelVEB OJSC for on-lending to private companies investing in sustainable energy projects.
Funding under the five-year loan to BelVEB will be earmarked for investments to improve energy efficiency and promote greater use of renewable energy resources.
BelVEB was a strong candidate for lending under the new programme because of its strong presence across Belarus and its lively appetite for sustainable energy lending.
“We are very happy to be working together with BelVEB in our drive to help roll out energy efficiency investments across Belarus,” said Francis Delaey – Head of EBRD’s Resident Office in Belarus – at a signing ceremony today.
In addition to EBRD funding, companies will be able to benefit from free technical support funded by the Czech Republic, which will help them choose and carry out their energy efficiency projects.
Energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy sources is important in Belarus, where the consumption of energy, as measured against GDP, is 2.5 times higher than the EU average, and where imports account for 80 per cent of energy consumption.
The EBRD launched its Sustainable Energy Initiative in 2006, and has since invested over €11 billion in more than 600 projects across all of its countries of operations.
The Belarusian government has invited the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to prepare five large state-owned companies for privatization.
Officially, the unemployment in our country is reducing – if judging by the number of registrations at the labor exchange; however, the number of jobs doesn’t increase in the economy.
Recently Belarus State Military Industrial Committee announced that in the first half of 2016 its enterprises earned a net profit of $80m, thus over-fulfilling the assigned export plans by a quarter.
Poor economic conditions in the countryside, restrictions, unfair competition, inefficiency of state-owned agricultural enterprises also contribute to this ‘success story’, writes Aliaksandr Filipau.
On 20 June Lukashenka met with vice-chair and president of the Chinese CITIC Group Corporation Wang Jiong; it seems especially important in light of Lukashenka’s planned visit to China in September.
All the conditions for everyone to be able to earn a decent salary have been enabled in Belarus, however, it is necessary to make some effort to get the money, assumes the president.
Belarus is losing currency earnings – in the 6 months of 2016 the country earned 3 billion less than in the same period in 2015. Instead of removing the causes of the flop the state relies on magic.
He said Belarus would likely face economic tightening not only as a result of the coronavirus pandemic but also a Russian trade oil crisis that worsened this past winter.
In his report, philosopher Gintautas Mažeikis discusses several concepts that have been a part of the European social and philosophical thought for quite a time.
It is impossible to change life in cities just in three years (the timeline of the “Agenda 50” campaign implementation). But changing the structure of relationships in local communities is possible.