Belarus spends 13 bln rubles of Russian import substitution credit line

MINSK. Dec 18 (Interfax) - Belarus has drawn down 13 billion Russian rubles of a Russian government credit line of 105 billion rubles provided to finance import substitution projects in Belarus, Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said.

"A total of 85 billion Russian rubles in funds from this line are planned. Thirteen billion have already been drawn down, including by Gomselmash," Golovchenko was quoted as saying by state news agency BelTA.

He said 23 projects have now been approved, up from 16 earlier, and work is underway on datasheets for new projects.

"On instructions from the president, we worked it out so as to reduce timeframes as much as possible. Some projects will be carried out several months earlier, and for some we managed to reduce the timeframes by as much as 18 months to two years. Funds are being drawn down in line with the schedules, projects are being implemented as planned. There are no concerns about the drawdown of this credit line," Golovchenko said.