Minsk’s socio-economic development until 2025 approved

Deputies of the Minsk City Council have approved a programme of Minsk’s socio-economic development for 2021-2025, BelTA reports

The project is based on the provisions of the Republican five-year programme and state programmes of social and economic focus.

The Chairman of the Economy Committee of the Minsk City Executive Committee, Vladimir Naumovich, noted that the programme aims at achieving the main goal of the 2021-2025 period: priority development of areas that give the greatest multiplicative effect to ensure the growth of welfare and improve living conditions of the population, based on increasing the competitiveness of the economy of information and innovation orientation, activation of market institutions and ensuring social stability.

The programme forms an estimate of the achieved socio-economic development of Minsk in 2016-2020, defines goals and priorities for a new period, reflects key measures and mechanisms to solve problems, identifies risks and opportunities for their impact on socio-economic development of the city.

As for the main economic indicators and their forecast for 2021-2025, the nominal accrued average monthly salary has grown in 2021 against 2020 figures to make 107.2 percent. In 2025, it should be 109.1 percent compared to the previous year, and, in 2020 – 149.1 percent (to make at least Br2,615).

Investments in capital stock should grow by 22.4 percent in 2025 against the year of 2020 (increasing annually). Total revenues of Minsk’s consolidated budget are expected to rise by 54.8 percent by 2025.

It is planned to create and expand innovative production facilities, develop science and technology parks, high-tech export-oriented production (including on the basis of transformation of the existing enterprises and premises). Introduction of new medical treatment methods will continue – based on cellular technologies, high-tech methods of surgical intervention.

Major investment projects and construction of multifunctional complexes will be implemented.

In 2021-2025, 3m square metres of housing (at least 600,000 sq. m annually) are to be built, in addition to the necessary infrastructure.

The main export directions have been identified with an emphasis on development of new sales markets: Latin America, East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Co-operation with China will be intensified. Economists believe such diversification, as well as an active marketing policy, will enable Minsk’s enterprises to export $48bn of goods (an increase of 18.4 percent) in the coming five years. Exports of services will reach $29bn (an increase of 12.5 percent).

750 more retail and 560 more catering facilities will open in Minsk, while development of Internet commerce and network business in the field of public catering will continue. Consumer service enterprises will mainly open in large shopping centres, taking the form of multi-service points. It is expected that about 100 such objects will be lunched annually.

City authorities intend to stimulate business activity, maintain a favourable environment in Minsk for development of small and medium-sized businesses. Their share in formation of added value should increase by 42 percent by 2025.

Minsk’s transport infrastructure will also develop. In 2022, public transport lanes will be developed along a number of streets (Bogdanovich, Igumensky Tract, Mayakovsky, Sverdlov, Stoletov, Romanovskaya Sloboda, Tashkentskaya) and, in 2023, the Kovalskaya Sloboda – Slutsky Gostinets section of the third metro line will be put into operation. Transition to electric eco-friendly public transport will continue.

Major and running repair of Minsk’s housing is planned; entrance halls and adjacent territories will be beautified. More than 1,500 lifts will be replaced in the city. Moreover, water supply from underground sources will be ensured in the Belarusian capital.