Communication for investors on available potential sites of high-quality fresh groundwater for indus-trial bottling on the territory of the Republic of Belarus (стр. 1 )

Communication for investors

Minsk 2009

Table of Contents

	p.
1. background information.................................................	3
2. Report on the Availability of Potential Sites.....................................	3
3. COMMUNICATION FOR INVESTORS........................................	5
3.1. Procedure for setting up joint ventures to bottle up drinking water in the Republic of Belarus..............................................................	5
3.2. On the regulation of relations in the area of land use by investors on the territory of Belarus......................................................................	6
3.3. On stimulating manufacture and sales of goods.............................	12
3.4. List of taxes and other compulsory payments in 2009.......................	13
3.5. On some peculiarities of drinking water supply for export............	21
Subsurface sites potential for the manufacture and bottling of fresh underground water.................................................................................	24
Chemical Content of subsurface water sites potential for manufacture and bottling of underground water.........................................................	26
Sites of single and group groundwater withdrawals with the minimum excess of standard quality indices for bottled water.....................	36
Chemical Content of groundwater sites of single and group withdrawals with the minimum excess of standard quality indices for bottled water................................................................................................	42
Map of potential groundwater sites available for industrial bottling........................................................................................................	68

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Water is a vital source for the functioning of the ecosystems all over the Earth. There is lack of water in many parts of the globe today. According to the UN experts about one sixth of global population does not have any access to clean drinking water, and one third does not have access to water for domestic needs as well as 60% of global population will have faced with drinking water shortage as early as 2010.

By 2040 human needs in fresh water will have come up with the available global water resources.

The UN General Assembly proclaimed the period the International Decade of Action «Water for Life». The UN member-states emphasized that water is the driving force of sustainable development.

The Republic of Belarus has fair resources of high quality drinking and mineral waters.

In 2008 the specialists of the Geology Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection did much work to explore potential sites, and their control sampling. However the territory of Minsk and Mogilev regions has not been completely explored yet. These activities will be extended in the future.

2. REPORT ON the AVAILABILITY of POTENTIAL SITES

According to the work done 19 potential sites meet the requirements of the Sanitary Standards (SanPiN) of the Republic of Belarus "Sanitary Requirements to the Quality of Bottled Drinking Water". These sites are located: in the Grodno region – Leliuki (Ivie district), Dorgishki (Oshmyany district), Mostische (Novogrudok district), Zhirovichi (Slonim district), Kamenka (Shchuchin district), Gervyaty (Ostrovetsk district), Rudevichi (Zelva district), Dainova (Voronovo district) ; in the Brest region – Liushnevo, Teshevle, Kroshin, Zhemchuzhny (Baranovichi district), Botovo (Pinsk district) ; in the Minsk region – Smolichi (Kopyl district), Starobin (Soligorsk district), Rukhovo (Starye Dorogi district), Vileiski Spring (Vileika district) ; in the Mogilev region – Bolshaya Gorozha (Osipovichi district) ; in the Gomel region – Ozarichi (Kalinkovichi district). The water of 4 sites meets the EC standards in full: Starobin, Rukhovo in the Minsk region and Botovo, Kroshin in the Brest region. Most single samples out of 19 sites do not meet the EC Standards due to the high hardness (>1, 2 mg-eq.).

In addition another 56 bodies have the minor exceeding of maximum permissible concentration by one or two indices (by colour up to 100, in some cases total ferrous up to 0,4 mg/dm3, ammonia - 0,5mg/dm3, nitrates – less than 50mg/dm3). by regions these objects are located in the Minsk region – 20, Brest region – 20, Grodno region – 9, Vitebsk region – 6, Mogilev region – 1.

Also for industrial purposes groundwater could be bottled at 6 sites in the areas of operating withdrawals in Brest, Zhabinka, Ivatsevichi, Grodno, Mogilev and Orsha. Enterprises for industrial bottling could be located at the explored lines of withdrawals within 300-meter range (based on the experience of exploitation), where it is enough to drill an operating well.

The information obtained proves that the segments of aquifers and complexes containing groundwater available for bottling or requiring minimum water conditioning, in the first place, are among the layers of Quatermary and High Proterozoic; these are mainly Dnieper-Sozh and Berezina-Dnieper water-bearing complexes (areas of Minsk, Novogrudok and Oshmyany finite-moraine heights, Kopyl ridges, Lida plains) and high proterozoic water-bearing complexes at the points of their high bedding or outcrops under quatermary measures (areas northwards and north-westwards of Minsk, north-east of Baranovichi, north-east of Pinsk). The head groundwater of active water-cycle area on the territory of the Country is mainly hydrocarbonate magnesium and calcium with the mineralization of 0,1 -0,6 g/dm3 which accounts for somewhat hyperhardness mainly ranging within 3-6 mg-eq., and meets the requirements of the national normative documents.

Soft groundwater with the hardness of 1, 5 mg-eq. is much more uncommon in the Country. As a rule these are hydrocarbonate sodium waters, confined to the High Proterozoic layers that in turn can contain rather high (supernormal) content of fluorine, boron, aluminum and barium. But ferrous together with associated organoleptic properties such as colour and turbidity is the core constituent, deteriorating water quality. The hyper ferrous content (twice-tenfold its norm) is characteristic for many areas of the Country and a natural factor contributing to the salt content of water. Moreover an increase or decrease in ferrous concentration is subjected neither vertical nor horizontal zoning and devoid of any pattern. According to the findings of the Belarusian hydrogeological expedition it is determined that if excessive ferrous content is identified at the upper horizon that is likely to be the same at the lower horizon and vice versa. Within the same settlement, as well as its suburbs the ferrous content of groundwater can fluctuate within the same aquifer. As evidenced by the foregoing it is impossible to predict the ferrous content of underground water around some settlement but to rely on the particular findings of well drilling and testing.

In deciding on a particular site for manufacture and bottling of underground water and taking into account the above-mentioned it is vital to be guided by the following criteria:

1. The quality of a potential spring should meet the requirements of the existing standards.

2. The efficiency of geological and hydrogeological exploration at the site;

3. The availability of infrastructure, defining the feasibility study of a project (line) for bottling (the conditions of heat and energy supply, water-way and available transport communications, etc.)

MUNICATION FOR INVESTORS

3.1. Procedure for setting up joint ventures for industrial bottling of drinking waters in the Republic of Belarus

Sequence of actions:

1. Signing a constitutive agreement for setting up an enterprise;

2. Drawing up a business plan and carrying out its expertise in accordance with the established procedure;

3. Building up an authorized fund;

4. Registering an enterprise including the Ministry of Foreign Affaires;

5. Participating in the auction in order to obtain the right to conclude a

Land lease contract and registering the lot allotment;

6. Obtaining licenses (special permits) for the right to exercise activities;

7. Obtaining the mining lease including:

- Developing a feasibility study for the boundaries of mining lease, exercising its adjustment and approval;

- Adopting a resolution by the local Executive Committee;

8. Drawing up design estimates for drilling a well, and carrying out its expertise and compliance in line with the established procedure;

9. Drilling and equipping a well, carrying out a full complex of hydrogeological analyses including the chemical and quality analyses of underground water.

10. Obtaining opinions on the quality of drinking water and its certification;

11. Evaluating the operational reserves of underground water at the site, the State expertise of geological data and the approval of groundwater storage in the National Commission for mineral reserves;

12. Obtaining permits for special water use, compliance and quotas for groundwater operations;

13. Holding a tender for selecting a contractor (organization) to design a project;

14. Drawing up design documentation for construction works and construction and ecological expertise; obtaining a permit for construction works;

15. Holding a tender for selecting a contractor (organization) to build a project;

16. Entering into the contract with the construction organization executing construction works;

17. Holding a tender for selecting an organization for the delivery of technological equipment;

18. Installing technological and support equipment;

19. Executing starting-up and adjustment works and producing a pilot lot of bottled water;

20. Putting an enterprise into operation in order to reach the design capacity in future.

3.2. On regulating relations in the area of land use by investors on the territory of the Republic of Belarus

The investor is vested with the right to the plot after the state registration of this right and acquisition of the appropriate certificate (license) issued by the state registration Office.

According to the purposes and conditions of lot allotment investors are eligible to:

use the plot on their own;

use water bodies, minerals in general use including peat as well as useful properties of the plot without deriving a profit in accordance with the legally established procedure;

erect permanent structures (buildings, facilities) in accordance with the legally established procedure;

recover losses stemming from the withdrawal or temporary holding of plots, demolishing of objects of immovable property located on them as well as the restriction (charge) of rights to ground area including the establishment of real servitude;

surrender a plot on a voluntary basis;

demand the establishment or cessation of landed servitude.

Leaseholders charged for the right to conclude the Lease Agreement have a right unless otherwise specified by legislative instruments:

to sublease a lot within the term of lease;

to delegate their Lease-related rights and responsibilities to another person;

to exercise the lease right as an object of pledge within the term of the Lease agreement.

Investors are bound to:

use granted land as well as structures on them in compliance with the purposes and conditions of land allotment;

implement land protective measures;

make payment for the utilization of land on timely basis;

develop land area;

meet the terms of land lease under the established legislative instruments including the construction of permanent structures (buildings, facilities) as well as other conditions of land allotment ;

respect the rights of other land users;

return the lots granted for temporary use or on lease after the expiry date or renew a lease in good time;

observe the specified restrictions (charges) of rights to land involving the conditions of land servitude.

In order to provide extended protection guarantees to the leaseholders' rights the Legislation stipulates that the term of state-owned land lease for the purposes relating to construction and/or maintenance of permanent structures (buildings, facilities) shall not be less than the normal period of their construction and/or operation. Land lease for a shorter period of time shall be exercised only with the consent of persons taking land on lease. The term of land lease shall not exceed ninety nine years.