April 3, 2008

Greenfield to invest US345 million for bioethanol production in Belarus

Irish company Greenfield Project Management Limited (Ireland) announced plans to invest US$345 million in the production of the bioethanol in Belarus.

Greenfield will construct two enterprises on bioethanol production in Mozir (Gomel oblast) and Bobruysk (Mogilev oblast) in Belarus with capacity of 550 and 100 million liters per year.

In order to realize these projects, the joint enterprise would be constructed; the share of Belarus would total 20 percent.

According to the report, the future bioethanol production is estimated at the level that should cover 3-6 percent of the European demand.

Currently, the import duty of EUR0.19/liter (US$0.30) is imposed for the import of Belarusian bioethanol to the European countries.

However, this duty would be compensated by the lower production costs in Belarus and governmental support measures.

The construction of the production plants in Mozir and Bobruysk would begin in the second half of 2008. The construction would take from 18 to 24 months.