Imagine a Shenzhen on the edge of Europe. This is probably a hammer blow for domestic manufacturing in EU countries.
Chinese outsourcing and freedom from EU regulation will be just an hour or two away from every single entrepreneur in Europe.
http://boingboing.net/2011/03/12/venn-diagram-illustr.html
Hint: Belarus's flag is not in there at all. Add in a near-total lack of workers skilled in post-1950s technology, English, or for that matter any language except Russian, and I'm hard pressed to think of a worse place to locate a factory.
In the former Soviet union, Belarus had a very significant and comparatively modern industrial sector, producing vehicles, consumer electronics, machinery etc. Minsk in particular is heavily industrialised, and according to the Wikipedia entry:
After the last war the development of the city was linked to the development of industry, especially of R&D-intensive sectors (heavy emphasis of R&D intensive industries in urban development in the USSR is known in Western geography as 'Minsk phenomenon').
So I suspect if there is a recent history of "R&D intensive industries", finding workers to man even advanced factories should not be an issue.
[citation needed]
>I'm hard pressed to think of a worse place to locate a factory.
How many factories have you placed? Would you put one in Bangladesh?
The EU sanctions expire in a few months, and currently only target individuals and companies, there is no general trade embargo so access to EU markets should be fine. Also China and the US are outside every single European institution but there is plenty of trade.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/15/belarus-eu-sanctio...
Being landlocked won't be an issue for exporting finished goods to the EU, but perhaps there will be an issue for raw materials and component supplies.
Not worried in the slightest, to be honest.
Although it's projected to be 140% the size of Manhattan, the article states that the city will accommodate only 150,000 residents. Indeed, the article also says that the entire country of Belarus is only 9.5 million inhabitants, just 15% or so larger than all of NYC.
- 51.2% of Belarusians are employed by state-controlled companies.
- Political opponents have been violently suppressed
- Per capita income $6.8k
- A fifth of Belarusian land (principally farmland and forests in the southeastern provinces) continues to be affected by radiation fallout from Chernobyl
Sometimes, bias is only in language.
Especially since the 'threat' of China often seems to be one thing that can unite the member states.
In terms of population, it'll be 1/10th the size of Manhattan.
(Still pretty impressive, though!)
Can someone explain the four-year planning of the currency swap related to the actual build-out? Or am I seeing something of insignificance related to the whole of the article?
Well, congrats to whoever gets awarded with the contracts…
Probably the first and last time I'll ever agree with a dictator.
