The Chairman of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee told what social facilities will appear in the district in the near future

The MINSK region is one of the leaders in economic indicators not only in the region, but also in the country. What results were achieved in 2024 ? We addressed this question to the Chairman of the Minsk District Executive Committee Vladimir Yurgevich.

- Vladimir Iosifovich, is it possible to sum up the preliminary results of 2024 for the Minsk region?

- The results of socio-economic development for 11 months of 2024 indicate that the Minsk region showed confident development and demonstrated good results. The entire real sector of the economy worked quite steadily, with positive dynamics in the main areas.

 During the reporting period, all forecast indicators were met. Thus, the volumes of industrial and agricultural production, construction, and domestic trade increased compared to the same period in 2023. Investment volumes also increased. Their growth rate for January-November was 128.5% in comparable prices, and by the end of the year it is estimated to be 122.4%.

Despite the fact that enterprises operate in a changed international environment and more complicated logistics, they also managed to increase the volume of foreign trade in goods and services. In the EXPORT of goods of the region, the share of exports of the Minsk region is 23%, and the export of services - 24.6%.

Further growth of wages has been ensured. In January-November, its size exceeded Br2755, an increase of 20.2% compared to the same period in 2023. As a result, the Minsk region took first place in the region in this indicator, overtaking the Soligorsk region.

- What successes in industrial production have been achieved?

- Industry is one of the growth leaders. In January-November 2024, products worth Br6.2 billion were produced, exceeding last year's volume by Br724 million, or 13.1%. By the end of the year, the growth rate will be at least 110%.

Of the 60 industrial enterprises in the region, 57 are engaged in the manufacturing industry. Their main activities are the production of food products (30.9%), metal products (27.4%), rubber and plastic products (11.3%), wood and paper products (5.5%), and chemical products (4.2%). I would like to note that enterprises engaged in all 12 branches of the manufacturing industry showed growth in 2024. The share of industrial enterprises in the Minsk region accounts for 20% of the volume of the entire region.

In the Minsk region, the volume of production of import-substituting products (for 19 commodity items that are under control) for January-September 2024 amounted to $394.9 million, or 89.2% of the import substitution action plan for 2024 (the annual target is $442.7 million). This indicates that the plan will be exceeded by the end of the year.

- What results did agricultural enterprises show?

- The region's agriculture is focused on the production of MILK , MEAT, and other products.Cattle , pigs, poultry, as well as eggs, growing of grain, vegetables, rapeseed, SUGAR beet, potatoes. In the gross output of the plant growing industry of the Minsk region, the largest share is occupied by the production of grain and vegetables in protected ground.

In 2024, in agricultural organizations of the Minsk region, including peasant farms, the highest gross harvest of grain and leguminous crops (with corn) in barn weight over the past 10 years was obtained, which amounted to 217.6 thousand tons (129.5% of the 2023 level), with a yield of grain and leguminous crops of 60.2 c / ha (+ 12.4 c / ha to the 2023 level), which allowed the Minsk region to take second place in the country.

In terms of the volume of vegetable production in protected ground in the Minsk region, the championship also belongs to our region. In January-November 2024, 41.1 thousand tons of protected ground vegetables were produced in Minsk district, or 85% of the total production in Minsk region and 40.7% of the total production in Belarus.

As of December 1, 2024, livestock farms of Minsk district kept 38.5 thousand heads of cattle , including 14.9 thousand heads of cows; 29.4 thousand heads of pigs and 2.4 million heads of poultry. In order to improve the efficiency of livestock farming, technical re-equipment and reconstruction of livestock buildings, construction of new dairy complexes are underway.

In January-November 2024, the growth of gross agricultural output in comparable prices amounted to 113.7% due to the growth in the production of grain, eggs, milk, and protected ground vegetables.

- The Minsk FEZ is located on the territory of Minsk district. Does the work of its residents affect the economy of the district?

- The presence of the priority development area of ​​the FEZ "Minsk" is an important component of the industrial complex of the Minsk region. There are 16 manufacturing enterprises operating effectively here, including 12 large industrial ones. In January-November 2024, they produced goods worth Br1.9 billion and provided 30% of the total industrial production of the region. At the same time, the achieved growth rate exceeded similar indicators for the region as a whole by 2 percentage points (115.1% versus 113.1%).

All organizations of the FEZ "Minsk" are export-oriented industries with a modern technological structure; they produce products that are in demand not only within the country, but also in foreign markets. The enterprises of the FEZ "Minsk" are undoubtedly the driver of industrial growth in the region.

- The country's leadership pays close attention to the development of the social sphere. How are things in this regard in the Minsk region today?

- In the Minsk region, we also pay primary attention to this issue. Over the past two years, our outpatient clinics and FAPs have been seriously transformed. Roofs, facades, elevators, heating and fire alarm systems, utility networks, interior spaces have been repaired, window units and doors have been replaced, and the territory has been landscaped. Hundreds of units of medical equipment have been purchased. By the second half of 2025, it is planned to commission a clinic for 1,330 visits per shift in the village of Kopishche. The plans include the construction of a new clinic in Mikhanovichi and the modernization and reconstruction of the clinic in Senitsa. Perhaps the most long-awaited event for the district's healthcare was the start of construction of the 1st stage of a clinic for 700 visits per shift in Zaslavl in 2023. At the same time, the most important component of an effective healthcare system is people. Today, 1,988 people work in the Minsk Central Regional Clinical Hospital alone. The staffing level with doctors there is 97.2%, with mid-level medical personnel - 97.4%.

Access to services in the sphere of culture of Minsk district to citizens is provided by 68 cultural institutions: 30 club-type institutions, 29 libraries, 1 museum, 8 children's art schools. A significant event in 2024 was the opening of the building of Shershunsky rural house of culture after major repairs.

For physical education and sports, sports and mass work, there are 560 sports facilities in the district, including 71 sports halls, 114 adapted premises, 6 sports trails, 36 sports cores, 2 stadiums, 5 equestrian arenas, 4 water ski and sailing bases, 12 ski bases, 13 shooting ranges and 2 shooting ranges, 1 ice rink, 203 flat structures, 30 swimming pools, 60 other physical education and sports facilities.

The developed infrastructure has made it possible to increase the number of sports and mass events held in the district. If in 2020 there were 67 of them with a coverage of 4950 people, then over 80 events were held in the first 11 months of 2024, in which 6 thousand people participated, almost half of whom were children .

The district also has the appropriate infrastructure for the development of tourism: 26 hotels and similar accommodation facilities, 92 roadside service facilities, 17 HEALTH resort and health organizations, 3 camper parking lots, 57 agro-eco-estates. Thanks to this, the export of tourism services has increased almost fourfold since 2020. Of the 60 industrial enterprises in the district, 57 are engaged in the manufacturing industry. Their main activities are the production of food, metal products, rubber and plastic products, wood and paper products, chemical products.
Alexey GORBUNOV, 7 days newspaper.