Minsk cuts space program to fund potato storage facility in Viciebsk region

December 28, Pozirk. The government plans to construct a potato storage facility with a capacity of 20,000 tons in Tałačyn, Viciebsk region, says its directive published on the National Legal Internet Portal.

The Council of Ministers will allocate about 2.26 million rubels (about $707 million) for this “pilot innovation project.”

The government will take the bulk of funds, some 2.1 million, from the amount previously earmarked for the Belarusian space program. The government also will redirect state funding intended for the National Academy of Sciences’ research facilities and sociological surveys, the directive says. 

Alaksandar Łukašenka approved the space program in 2007. The Academy of Sciences was in charge of implementing its first stage to develop an Earth remote sensing system. As part of the project the academy was involved in building a satellite, which sent into orbit in 2012.