Belarus to launch reconstruction of 12 bridges in 2020

Belarus is set to start reconstructing 12 bridges in 2020, Belarus’ Transport and Communications Minister Aleksei Avramenko said in an interview with the ONT TV channel on 1 March, BelTA has learned.

“We pay a lot of attention to the reconstruction of bridges on the national roads. This year we are planning to start work on 12 large bridges. We signed a loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Now we are completing all the procedures and we will announce a tender to choose a contractor in March,” Aleksei Avramenko noted.

Plans are in place to reconstruct major roads too. Repairs of the M7 Minsk - Vilnius will begin this summer and will be completed by 1 May 2021. The project is being implemented jointly with the European Investment Bank. The reconstruction of the section of the M3 Highway bypassing Pleshchinitsy and the road P53 from the Mound of Glory towards Smolevichi will be completed this year.

The minister also commented on the issue of permits. “We and Poland exchange 199,000 permits on a parity basis. The problem is that Belarusian carriers need an additional 30,000 permits, while the Polish side is ok with what they have. That is the difficulty of the negotiations: we ask for more, while they do not need to. We agreed to hold a number of meetings and consultations by 15 March in order to somehow resolve the deadlock and increase the number of permits for Belarusian carriers,” he said./p>

Belarus news (BelTA)