The transport system of Belarus is considered as a component part of economy, and it is aimed at incorporation to the global commodity flows, rendering of a wide range of services for participants of the foreign economic activity.

The Head of the State has allotted a large task of increase in income from transit freight transportation through our country. Many state bodies and agencies are engaged in its solution.

Logistics activities embrace all branches of the national economy. They promote the integration of Belarus into the global commodity flows. The work in this direction is carried out within the frameworks of the all-Republican Program of development of the logistics network and transit potential for 2016-2020. It stipulates for implementation of 51 actions, and the Ministry of Transport and Communication is responsible for 28 of them. Major directions include promotion of country’s transit attractiveness, quality improvement and expanding logistics services, development of transport and storage infrastructure, perfection of legal and economic conditions.

58 logistic centres, including 15 multimodal ones, are functioning in the republic, 13 centres have the government form of ownership (the rest ones have been established with the participation of national and foreign investors). 66 customs warehouses and temporary storage warehouses, having the total area over 458 thousand sq.m. exist there, as well as 18 customs clearance offices, about 400 general use warehouses (area of 876.2 thousand sq.m.), six container terminals, including 145 processing sites for containers of different types and capacities, as well as 55 parking lots. In the nearest time about 160-200 thousand sq. m. of storage areas will be put into operation.

Enhancement of consumable goods storing and processing capacities makes it possible to considerably increase the competitive ability of domestic participants of the foreign economic activity.

The main role in development of the logistics activities in the republic is devoted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications to creation of legal fundamentals for its implementation.

The logistics and transport-forwarding activities are regulated by over 70 statutory and regulatory enactments. Main acts include the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus, the laws “On the basics of the transport activity” and “On the transport and forwarding activity”. Apart from legislative acts in the field of logistics, the standards have been worked out, which contain the terminology, requirements to technological infrastructure and transport and forwarding servicing in the transport and logistic centre, classification of the storage infrastructure, the certification procedure of the logistic centre, requirements to the professional competency of the logistics operator’s personnel.

It should be pointed out that a year ago the Republic of Belarus acquired the status of a permanent member of the Agreement between the governments of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on creation of favourable conditions for international motor transportations.

For the purposes of the development of legal basics of international truck transportations the intergovernmental agreement with Turkey on international combined transportation of cargoes was ratified.

Also, agreements with Latvia on international railway communication was signed, with Poland – for construction of a new motor-road border bridge across Zapadny Bug-river at the border motor-road crossing Domachevo-Slavatych of the Belarusian-Polish section of the state frontier.

Currently, the active work is being continued on the development of land-based container transportations on the Eurasian continent within the frameworks of the agreement between railroad administrations of China, Belarus, Germany, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Poland and Russia on intensification of cooperation on organization of container trains in communication between China and Europe.

The State Association “Belarusian Railroad” and “Azerbaijan Railroad” JSC signed an agreement aimed at the increasing volumes of cargoes transportation through the transport corridor “North – South”. In development of the reached arrangements the schedule and timetable was worked out for the container train operating along the route Minsk – Baku and formation of the complex rate.

The legal conditions, created and being created in the Republic of Belarus, will contribute to the increase of the rendered logistics services, building informational interaction, exchange of experience, development of entrepreneurship ties and strategic partnership between national and international participants of the logistics activity, including within the frameworks of the ‘Great Stone’ China-Belarus Industrial Park and the initiative “Silk Road Economic Belt”.   

First of all, the Chinese initiative is attractive for creation of logistic centres within the frameworks of the “Belt and Road Initiative” project, on the basis of which transit cargoes may be processed, and lots of goods may be formed for their transportation along the route Asia – Europe – Asia, as well as the products of the ‘Great Stone’ China-Belarus Industrial Park may be concentrated. A contract with park residents within the frameworks of the transport and forwarding activity was concluded by the National Airport “Minsk”, Belarusian Railroad and “BELINTERTRANS” State Enterprise cooperate with them.

Being located between large integration associations – the European Union and Eurasian Economic Union, as well as near important transport junctions, “Great Stone” is developing as a large logistics hub station on a New Silk Route. Currently, the first stage of the logistics sub-park, which was created by the China Merchants Group resident, is already functioning and in 2020 construction of a railroad container terminal is planned. Taking into consideration the annual growth of railroad transportations China-Europe-China this will make it possible to integrate the park into the major routes of the global initiatives, to turn it into an important transport link.

Currently, the “Great Stone” Industrial Park promises not only to bring the transit potential of the republic to a new level, but also to become a driver of the economy growth in our country as the key project on the development of innovation production enterprises.

 The process of improvement of the logistics and transport infrastructure is incrementally developing. The network of logistic centres has been formed, apart from the “Great Stone” China-Belarus Industrial Park, an essential logistics project is being established in the special economic zone “Bremino-Orsha” in Balbasovo settlement of Vitebsl region, where the production of goods is planning to be organized and logistics services to be rendered for procession of cargoes delivery by not only by land, but also by air transport.

In order to fulfill the task of quality improvement and integrated approach to logistics services rendering in accordance with the republican program, measures are being implemented on the development of the competitive environment for logistics operators, including at the expense of deregulation of the market of transport services.

The advanced experience of foreign states is applied in logistic centres, modern digital technologies are introduced. National logistics operators have already been using in their activity about 120 software programs on various platforms for control of supply networks and processes automation.

Special attention is paid to four main areas: digitization; document turnover advancement; provision of economically feasible preferences for the development of logistics infrastructure; development of the system of coordination among state agencies and the initiative of entrepreneurs. Solving these issues will make it possible to create the competitive transport and logistics system in the republic.

For further development of activities the state managing bodies continue their work on simplification of the customs control procedures for vehicles, when they cross borders of the country in order to maximally reduce their downtime.

Mobilization to the logistics sphere of domestic authorized economic operators (AEO), who are working at the market of the Eurasian Economic Union, has become the positive tendency. As of July 2020, 326 AEOs have been functioning in the republic. More than 50 of them are carrying out their activity using the storage areas of Belarusian logistic centres.

It can already be said of the beginning of the logistics service pool formation in the republic by taking into consideration the world experience, that makes it possible to unite capabilities of a certain group of logistics operators and to offer over 50 types of logistics services to clients. For broadening their activities the domestic logistics operators have started mastering such new types of services as out-staffing of storage personnel and outsourcing, which are successfully used in a number of countries around the world.   

“Beltamozhservice” RUE, “Brestvneshtrans” Joint Limited Liability Company, “Trading and Logistic centre “Ozertso-Logistic” JSC, “Belmagistralautotrans” JSC, JV “Transit” LLC, JV “Dominik” LLC may be distinguished among the logistic centres, which render the biggest quantity of services (for example, forwarding, storing, of a customs representative, informational, insurance, cargo consolidation at a terminal, preparation and organization of international cargo transportation in own motor vehicles, execution of transport and customs documents, declaring, preliminary notification of customs authorities, provision of the financial guarantee, etc.).   

During transit of empty private rail cars en route Latvia – Belarus – Russia the Belarusian Railroad together with its colleagues from Latvia and Russia use electronic SMGS consignment notes with electronic signatures. It appears that it is expedient to develop such a practice in other types of communication and transport, especially during organization of multimodal cargo transportation. In 2020 Belarusian Railroad is planning to complete the introduction of “Electronic transportation” system, including the tooling of paperless technologies.  

Under the aegis of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus the national intellectual monitoring system of commodity transport flows based on modern informational and communication technologies. Within the frameworks of the State Program “Development of the digital economy and informational society for the years 2016-2020” “LogistLab” Limited Liability Company, a resident of the high-tech park, brought a principally new product to the market – the on-line platform of the LogistLab transport forwarding agent, which is based on the implementation of the solutions for quick order selection, clearance of requests, tracking in the online mode, factoring, guarantee of the order payment and other functions of paperless technologies.

Omni-channel communications, based on Web-, mobile-, API-ERP2ERP-systems, the platform of interaction of freight owners, logistics operators and forwarders Expeditor.pro belong to a more advanced digital technology, as far as relations between participants of the transport process are concerned. Operation with such a platform makes possible to increase efficiency along the whole logistics chain, including transport and forwarding servicing of customers. Marketing studies, automatic distribution of orders among registered forwarders, plotting of optimal routes, tracking, execution of on-line turnover of documents are carried out with its assistance.    

With regard to the practice of using the electronic turnover of documents in operation activities (especially in the segment of the small entrepreneurship), currently, transport and forwarding companies, domestic logistics operators use on-line platforms, via which about 58% of all orders for carriers were received during the current year.

Since the last year the IBA Group of companies along with logistics operators, IT-community under the patronage of scientific, technological and logistics associations of Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania has been implementing the eLogistics project and “Digital transport corridors” concept.  

All this will contribute to a wider use of electronic turnover of documents, reduction of transport documents number, development of the system of electronic certificates for goods in distribution networks.

The logistics system of the Republic of Belarus stands among most important factors, which determine competitive ability and steady development of the national economy. Exactly from these positions the work is being arranged in order to provide conditions of steady functioning in this sphere of activities.

The Ministry of Transport and Communication is open for the dialogue with all parties concerned, and it welcomes partners and potential investors willing to establish mutually advantageous cooperation.