Strong confidence in continued growth of Belarusian transport industry amid sanctions
There are good prospects for the operation of Belarus' transport industry despite Western sanctions and the disruption of usual logistic chains. Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoly Sivak made the statement after a conference hosted by Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko to discuss the transport industry's performance, BelTA has learned.
Anatoly Sivak said the factors that complicate the operation of the transport industry emerged back before the pandemic of 2020 and the effect was quite protracted. It was very important to keep people employed by transport companies working. It was an instruction of the head of state. It was next to impossible to find specialists like aircraft pilots, flight attendants, or even train conductors later on since training the personnel is a lengthy process, with security considerations playing a major role. Focus on keeping the worker collectives intact has produced its benefits. “The growth we see in passenger transportation today is due to the fact that the industry started working hard once things started relaxing,” the official stated.
Close attention is also paid to the prices citizens pay for transport services. They have to be affordable and companies are encouraged to reduce their costs.
As for freight transportation, the policy of sanctions against Belarus prompted a redirection of transport flows. The work of the transport industry is closely related to the state of affairs at enterprises that make products. Products need to be competitive taking into account logistical changes. “Producers and transporters have to come to an agreement,” Anatoly Sivak stressed. He stressed that manual control is sometimes used in this sphere taking into account the current situation.
In his words, increasing the volume of transportation is a number one priority. The relevant capacity is available. “Everything that needs to be transported will be transported,” the deputy prime minister assured.
Speaking about trucking, Anatoly Sivak mentioned work on the realization of the signed Belarus-Russia Union State programs. “Certain agreements are being prepared as part of their realization and are supposed to be signed this year. Equal terms for commercial entities are in focus,” he remarked.
The official also mentioned the transportation of potash fertilizers as Belarus' key export. Belarusian Railways has been instructed to fully satisfy the demand for transportation and the volume of potassium transportation is rising. The work proceeds in correlation with the use of Russian sea port infrastructure. “It is an ongoing process. Belarusian and Russian transport companies, world companies are involved. An increase in transportation is assured,” Anatoly Sivak noted.
The official said that some of the rolling stock fit for shipping potash fertilizers by rail remains in Ukraine. “We need to make more in order to substitute that. Mogilev Car Building Plant has been working hard this year in line with contracts signed with Belaruskali,” the deputy prime minister said.