The construction readiness of the rolling mill that will make metal sheets and tinned iron in Miory district, Vitebsk region stands at 93%. The enterprise’s Director General Piotr Shimukovich made the statement while taking Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Rumas on a tour of the construction site on March 27.
The prime minister visited the main shop of the rolling mill where primary plant and equipment was located. Sergei Rumas appreciated the technologies the rolling mill would use and hosted a conference with all the main participants of the investment project to discuss the enterprise’s marketing strategy. Reasons behind delays in implementing the project were also discussed, including those relating to the financial scheme, and ways to resolve them.
According to Piotr Shimukovich, the main issues impeding the implementation of the investment project have been resolved.
“We have a number of facilities in different readiness states. The project’s implementation is impossible without them. However, the construction part of the project will be finished soon. Work relating to startup and commissioning operations for all the technology units will be left to do,” he stated.
Piotr Shimukovich said that a cold rolling mill of the enterprise had been in pre-launch mode since mid-January. All the operations specified by the equipment supplier have been performed by the cold rolling mill for the last 1.5 months. No major faults were detected. The rest of the work proceeds vigorously. The general contractor and subcontractors are intent on completing it as fast as possible.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of OOO MMPZ Group Aleksei Kovalenok said: “The construction of the rolling mill has been in progress for over three years. Due to pauses in financing we will be six months behind the projected schedule.”
He drew attention to the array of projects the establishment of such a powerful enterprise will make possible in the area. For instance, comfortable company housing will be built here soon. This kind of accommodation will be free. Personnel will be able to acquire the apartments after working for the company for ten years. A kindergarten will also be built as well as a school, a large multipurpose center, and a high-technology medical center. The latter will be built via a public private partnership scheme.
The investment project to build the rolling mill is being implemented in line with the national innovative development program for the 2016-2020 period and Belarus president decree No. 271 dated June 9, 2014. The volume of investments will be close to EUR 400 million. The main investor is the Austrian company MMPZ GmbH. It is an innovative project because it will result in an enterprise able to produce a unique product for Belarus, CIS states, and nearby countries – tinned iron sheets with their thickness starting at 0.1 mm (tinned iron sheets with the thickness of 0.18 mm and upwards are available in the CIS). The project is an export-oriented one: the bulk of the output will be exported in addition to satisfying the domestic demand. Russia’s share in the total export is expected to be close to 20% while the rest will be shipped to other countries. (BelTA/Ukrainian metal)