Motovelo Plant development strategy discussed at meeting with President

The development strategy of one of the oldest enterprises of the country was discussed today at a meeting with the President. The production of motorcycles and bicycles has long been the backbone of the Belarusian industry and a recognizable brand on various continents. Unfortunately, the financial indicators of Motovelo Plant do not allow us to speak about an efficient business model and its sustainable future. The Belarusian bicycles are being squeezed by competitors and the plant's sites are not used for their intended purpose. Therefore, the plant needs a detailed comprehensive business plan, and the products of unconditional quality. But the main thing is that the plant is not in danger of privatization or shutdown. The staff will be saved. But the capital’s giant won't work as before.

Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus: "The world market of bicycles is growing rapidly and, despite the pandemic, the forecasts say it will increase by 9% annually. Thus, there are better conditions for the development of production in this area. But, unfortunately, the financial and economic indicators, to put it mildly, are not encouraging. The share of the Belarusian bicycles in the domestic market decreases from year to year and is now about one fifth. The export is weak and does not solve the problem of sales."

Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus: "The key link in production, our own design bureau, has been lost. It is easy to organize some kind of assembly. But it is almost a dead-end road. And the problems of the enterprise cannot be solved by assembly, especially the financial and economic ones. And it is not possible to solve the debt problem either. The mechanism that our plant uses today is temporary. It is impossible to work in such a way for a long time."

Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus: "The principles of our economic policy have just been approved at the All-Belarusian People's Assembly. Therefore, if someone thinks that we are going to sell this enterprise to someone, privatize it, and then close it down or produce spokes for a bicycle, while the investor will move all the production to Italy, Russia or China somewhere, do not even bet on it. MAZ, BELAZ, MTZ, Gomselmash and other enterprises, those are the flagships of engineering in Belarus, its brands. Motovelo Plant is one of them. Therefore, we cannot lose it. A nationwide decision was made to develop the areas where the country already has certain competences.  We have many good specialists who can make bicycles. So let's develop this industry!". 

The task of the government is to present a business plan. We need an economically sound and efficient enterprise model, with a guarantee that the costs will pay off in 5 years. Only then we can think about any investments. But given the five-year corridor return on investment, we don’t mean building from  the scratch! As the deputy prime minister said, the final decision will certainly be taken  not in the Palace of Independence.