OREANDA-NEWS. November 21, 2008. The projects presented by FEZ Gomel-Raton at the Belarus Investment Forum in London stirred up a deep interest in foreign businessmen.

According to him, the information materials about the FEZ projects were in great demand. The forum gave an opportunity to hold negotiations with representatives of business circles from the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy.

“The main objective - to inform the international business elite about the opportunities of doing business in Belarus – has been fulfilled. Many meetings have been held, new contacts have been established; and there is no doubt that these contacts will be developed. Of course, the investment forum will not result in the immediate implementation of these projects. The great amount of information that the investors received has to be analyzed and some time after decisions will be taken”, Alexander Skvortsov said.

FEZ Gomel-Raton presented three projects to be considered by foreign investors: the establishment of ferrosilicomanganese (FeSiMn) manufacture, a transport and logistics centre (the project cost is estimated at USD 314 million) and the manufacture of large-sized zinc-plated metalware.

35 resident companies have been registered with the Gomel-Raton free economic zone. In January-September 2008, the FEZ export of goods approached USD 100 million which is 31% up from the same period of 2008. Over the nine months, Br34.6 billion was invested in the FEZ permanent assets.