Belarus tractor plant in Novi Sad - EUR 2 million investment in first phase

Tractors of make Belarus from Minsk (Belarus) are also being produced in Novi Sad as of Monday (March 28, 2011), and that plant was ceremoniously opened by Vojvodina Prime Minister Dr. Bojan Pajtic, accompanied by his associates.

This significant business project is a result of an agreement initiated by the governments of Vojvodina and Belarus. Production and assembling of this famous make of tractors, in which 2 million euros were invested in the first phase, take place in the space of former Petar Drapsin production plant.

According to the words of PM Pajtic, this plant is of exceptional importance and, for start, 70 new jobs are planned to be created in it through the Provincial Secretariat for Labor and Employment.

As Mr. Pajtic stressed, what is also very important is that a large number of people from about ten different companies from all around the country will be included in the very process of production of this famous make of tractors and will collaborate as partners.

- The plant Belarus in Novi Sad is very significant to our farmers because they will get a chance to purchase quality agricultural machines at prices that are lower and more competitive than it was the case before. The arrival of Belarus in Serbia and Vojvodina is also an important sign for other foreign investors because this manufacturer is one of global leaders in the production of agricultural machines. In this way, a signal is sent that our country, Vojvodina and the City of Novi Sad represent an excellent investment area - said Mr. Pajtic.

The annual production capacity of the plant is 3,000 tractors, which will be up to 20% cheaper than the imported models made by the Minsk Tractor Institute (MTZ).

The opening ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Government of Belarus and the Belarus Embassy to Belgrade, Belarus Deputy Minister of Industry Genadiy Sviderski Bronislavovich, Minsk Tractor Institute (MTZ) Director General Aleksandar Aleksiyevich Puhovoy, Charge d'Affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus to Serbia Chichuk Sergey Nikolayevich, Vojvodina Deputy Prime Minister Boris Barjaktarovic, Provincial Secretary for Labor, Employment and Gender Equality Miroslav Vasin, Novi Sad Mayor Igor Pavlicic, and numerous businessmen who are active in the agricultural sector in Vojvodina.

Belarus-Agropanonka CEO Dragoljub Svonja expressed a special satisfaction with this collaboration, which represents part of a plan for the biggest possible penetration of the agricultural machinery market in the region.