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Lukashenka orders demolition of Maskowski Bus Terminal in Minsk

 

Alyaksandr Lukashenka, by his presidential edict issued on April 4, directed that the Maskowski Bus Terminal in Minsk should be demolished to make way for the construction of a multi-purpose complex by gas pipeline operator Beltranshaz.

Beltranshaz, which is fully owned by Russia's gas giant Gazprom, is expected to complete the project in 2018, according to the presidential press office. Located at the intersection between Independence Avenue and Filimonava Street, the complex is to include office space, a hotel, a medical center, a sports center, a parking lot, and a power generation unit.

Under the edict, goods are to be imported for the construction of the facility free of duty and value-added tax.

Beltranshaz will pay nearly $31 million to the Minsk city authorities for the right to build the complex.

In addition, the company is to cover 50 percent of the cost of building a grade-separated interchange at the intersection and donate $3.3 million for the construction of a 30-apartment house for families with three and more children in the Belarusian capital.

Earlier this year, thousands of people signed an online petition against the project.

Speaking in the spring of 2012, Mikalay Ladutska, head of the Minsk City Executive Committee, suggested that the demolition of the terminal would not be "a great loss for the city." In terms of architectural design, this is not a landmark building, Mr. Ladutska said. "Let fancy office buildings of modern appearance, residential houses for rent, sports facilities, shopping centers and a traffic interchange better appear in the area," he said. "They will prompt large foreign companies and banks to open offices there, which would increase financial inflows."

The Maskowski Bus Terminal was put into operation in August 1999. In 2002, it was granted the Best Design award in a national contest. // BelaPAN