Lukashenko sees oil price drop as opportunity to expand Belarusian road network

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed the government to accelerate road construction projects, citing the opportunity presented by falling oil prices.

He made the remarks while appointing a new deputy prime minister responsible for construction, transport, and housing and utilities, Caliber.Az reports, citing Belarusian media.

“This spike [in oil prices] was due to the chaos in the Middle East. But I think we will stabilise,” Lukashenko said.

He noted that they still trade oil with Russia at a certain discount, and roads rely primarily on bitumen, which comes from oil.

“We have everything else,” the President added.

The Belarusian leader emphasised that roads are vital for Belarus as a transit hub.

He made it clear that if concrete highways cannot be built, bitumen should be used, taking advantage of the next year-to-year and a half of lower oil prices.

A well-developed road network, he stressed, is essential given Belarus’s strategic transit role.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov