Renowned in the Vitebsk oblast, Josef Bulka, a Catholic priest-prelate in the village of Mosar, the Glubokoye region will share his experience in counteracting drunkenness with the district police officers of the Vitebsk oblast. The priest will talk about his methods to combat and prevent alcohol addiction during an oblast seminar on April 11, BelTA learnt from Richard Malets, the head of the preventive measures office of the interior affairs department of the Vitebsk oblast executive...

OAO Naftan will increase the crude oil refining up to 12 million tonnes by 2010, Viktor Ostapchuk, the production manager of OAO Naftan, told a conference in Minsk on April 10. According to him, in 2007 Naftan processed 10.5 million tonnes of oil. Moreover, the company intends to increase the level of oil refining up to 90-92%. The strategic goal of OAO Naftan is to produce high quality products, to reduce energy intensity of production. By 2010 the company intends to launch a vacuum...

The Polotsk town council has launched the preparation of a joint Belarusian-Latvian tourist programme “Bella Dvina – Crossing the Border, Discovering the Culture, Enjoying the Nature of the Western Dvina/Daugava River Space”, BelTA learnt from coordinator of the project Igor Zagrekov, a specialist of the sports and tourism department of the Polotsk town council. The project aims to establish a common cross-border tourist route along the Western Diva-Daugava between Daugavpils, Polotsk...

In January-February this year small towns of the Vitebsk oblast increased the production of consumer goods by 21.9% over the same period last year, BelTA learnt from deputy head of the economy department of the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee Zinaida Koroleva. The most significant growth of the consumer goods output was registered in Lepel, Glubokoe and Dubrovno. According to Zinaida Koroleva, it is a result of the implementation of the state programme of development of regions and small...

The Vitebsk oblast plans to put Br167 million in business development in 2008, BelTA learnt from Valentin Tsvetkov, the head of the business activity department of the economy committee of the Vitebsk oblast executive committee. The non-state sector of the region’s economy development has been envisaged in the oblast business activity support programme for 2006-2008. The funds will be used to expand the business infrastructure, business information support improvement. The business...

In 2007 private companies of the Vitebsk oblast invested more than Br96bn in the development of production and created over 14,000 new jobs, Chairman of the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee Vladimir Andreichenko said at an award ceremony of the oblast-wide contest “Best Entrepreneur of the Year” on March 27. The small business sector has been increasing its contribution to the economic development of the oblast. In 2007, small and medium-sized enterprises increased their output by more...