OREANDA-NEWS. July 22, 2010. A new program to alleviate the Chernobyl impact will give a new impetus to the social and economic development of the affected regions, Emergencies Minister of Belarus Enver Bariyev told a session of the Council of Ministers’ Presidium which discussed the draft national program to alleviate the Chernobyl impact for 2010-2015.

“The program will create the most favored regime for the social, economic and industrial development of the regions affected by the Chernobyl disaster,” the Minister said. “The program envisages plans of action in social security, radiation control, recuperation, social and economic development, extending gas supply networks. It also secures new approaches as Belarus no longer needs humanitarian aid. Now the focus will be placed on the comprehensive social and economic development of the Chernobyl-affected regions,” Enver Bariyev said.

Some sections of the document highlight the measures to facilitate the development of the economic and industrial potential of several regions, namely the Gomel, Mogilev oblast and also the Brest region, the minister said. Subsidies will be provided to some companies for them to be able to grow the production, create new jobs. “The draft program contains a list of areas on which efforts will be concentrated. The funding was calculated specifically for every region, facility and area of work,” the Minister concluded.