The World Bank allocates a $ 250 million loan for the reconstruction of the M6 motorway. Head of the World Bank (WB) in Belarus Yang Chul Kim told that during the opening ceremony to start the reconstruction of the M6 highway Minsk-Grodno.
Yang Chul Kim called this project the largest one that was implemented by the World Bank in Belarus. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoly Kalinin and Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Alex Avramenko.
Head of the Representative stressed that Belarusian contractors won the tender for project financed by the World Bank for the construction of a highway. And Belarusian contractors acted as the general contractor. According to him, Belarusian companies can meet the highest standards and requirements, which the World Bank imposes in its projects
“Belarusians won the tender to perform this work by beating competition,” stressed Anatoly Kalinin and underlined that that Belarusian specialists are highly competent at implementing such projects. “The fact that Belarusians will do this work and the evaluation of the World Bank indicate that Belarusians are good at civil engineering and offer more competitive prices than other companies. They also fulfill international requirements concerning the construction of first-class roads,” remarked Anatoly Kalinin.
“Previously, the bank worked on the modernization of the M5 motorway. Almost 99% of the work on its reconstruction was performed by Belarusian companies,” said Yang Chul Kim.
During the project implementation the most advanced technology will be used for the reconstruction of the M6 motorway that was used for the modernization of the M5 motorway, for instance, a dynamic weighing system. Its setting will make it possible to weigh commercial vehicles without stopping.
“This infrastructure will allow attracting investments and creating logistics hubs, industrial enterprises, service outlets along the motorway. It will give a nudge to the development of the economy,” said Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoly Kalinin.
The M6 motorway is an infrastructure corridor that will connect Belarusian logistics hubs with the European Union. “In the future we will negotiate with European banks to start the construction of the M7 motorway. It is an M6 branch that will go towards Vilnius. We need to connect the Klaipeda port with the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone. It will allow creating certain infrastructure along the Silk Road,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
Speaking about the timeframe of the M6 motorway reconstruction project, Anatoly Kalinin said: “We are going to build this road with quality in mind while trying to reduce the time cost as much as possible. It is the task set by the government and the head of state. The work is supposed to be finished in September 2018.” He mentioned that motorists will not be impeded since measures will be taken to keep traffic flowing smoothly.
Under the materials of BelTA