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Renovation of circus building in Minsk likely to take longer than scheduled

Renovations to the building of the Belarusian State Circus in Minsk is unlikely to be completed in November 2009 as scheduled.

In fact, major work that envisages the renovation of the façade and the development of the adjacent area has not yet started, Tatsyana Bandarchuk, director general of the Circus, told BelaPAN.

The Circus closed down for the renovation project in April 2008, but workers arrived at the site only this past April when the Council of Ministers finally approved projected alternations to the structure.

Officials at the Minskprayekt design bureau, which is the chief designer in the project, say that the work should take two years under technical requirements, whereas the Minsk City Executive Committee insists that the Circus will open this November. Workers at the site say that the minimum period required to complete the work is two years.

Ms. Bandarchuk said in an interview with the government-controlled newspaper Sovetskaya Belorussiya that the exterior of the building will be painted in lighter colors, its columns will be decorated with gold-colored plaster moldings and bronze figurines of circus artists, and a fountain will be built in front of the main entrance.

An official at Minskprayekt told the newspaper Narodnaya Volya that “state-of-the art” lightening and sound equipment will be installed and a museum will open in the attic.

According to the Minsk City Executive Committee, a seven-story building will be constructed behind the Circus to house a training venue, offices and cages with animals.