Alena Maslyukova: Svetlahorsk Plant Has More Chances to Reach the Stars

What's going on at the bleached pulp mill that broke the agreement with China?

It's the end of the cooperation. Svetlahorsk Bleached Pulp Mill has terminated the contract with the Beijing company China CAMC Engineering, which had been building the enterprise for almost a decade, but failed to launch the production there, Belsat reports.

Will the Belarusians be able to launch the plant on their own without stinking emissions? And what is the reason for the failure of Chinese investments?

Having shielded from independent journalists, the shareholders of Svetlahorsk bleached pulp mill decided to terminate the agreement with the Chinese corporation. The bleached pulp mill was built for 9 years instead of 5 years, and it never started working.

The Svetlahorsk plant is not the only such unsuccessful project. Last year, Dobrush Paper Mill broke up the contract with a Chinese contractor. The modernisation of both our cement plants by Chinese companies has not made them profitable. After the mass protests, the battery plant closed down in Brest.

Our officials are useless when it comes to earning money. Belarus owes China $3.3 billion. The construction of a national football stadium is planned in Minsk. Beijing promises to build a sports facility worth $200 million for free.

Alena Maslyukova, a public activist, Svetlahorsk:

"People working at the plant once wrote to me that this plant has more chances to reach the stars rather than to be put into operation.

Journalists asked Svetlahorsk residents whether the plant should be tuned up.

"It is harmful to health. But it is useful in economic terms".

"In terms of economic, it is a plus, in terms of ecology it is a huge minus."

"What does it stink? It might be done on purpose!"