Replacing kiosks with bus stops will cost Minsk more than 2 million dollars
Minsk authorities have already organized tenders for supplies of new bus stops that will replace entrepreneur’s kiosks. Each bus stop will cost 4 thousand dollars. ERB has counted that a kiosk “earns” the sum Minsk authorities need to buy a new bus stop during two months by paying taxes. It costs nothing but some transport expenses to demolish a kiosk. However, a new bus stop costs… 4 thousand dollars. There are several companies producing new bus stops ordered by administrations of districts in Minsk. The head of the “Apix” company Syarhey Marushchak told ERB that they had won a tender in Kastrychnistaki District and would install bus stops there.
Syarhei Marushchak: We have no written orders yet, only verbal ones because the city authorities have not allocated money for it yet. In general, a bus stop costs 5 million roubles depending on its construction, there are different kinds of bus-stops.
The head of Minsk Central District unitary enterprise “Remautador” Valery Makarevich says that there is no single pattern for all bus-stops: every company can work out its own pattern. They have planned to demolish 39 kiosks this year. New bus-stops will be installed in their places. We wondered how much money Central District planned to spend on a new bus-stop.
Valery Makarevіch: Well, about 8 millions if you take into account the vandalism prevention system. It is with the cost of installation. And to demolish a kiosk … we will only have to pay for transport services.
Not a single kiosk has been demolished in Central District yet. Parshamaiski District “Remautador” has its own plan – they will replace 56 kiosks by new bus-stops but they doubt they will be able to do it by the end of 2008 because companies producing bus-stops cannot perform all tasks so quickly.
ERB asked how many kiosks were to be demolished in Minsk but the department of trade and services of Minsk City Executive Committee does not answer the question referring to the fact that the final decision about kiosks has not been taken yet.
ERB has counted that if 50 kiosks in each Minsk district were replaced this year, it would cost … 1 million 800 thousand dollars (!). But it is not the final sum because major repairs of streets where new bus-stops will be installed instead of the old ones are also planned. The deputy director general of “Harremautador” Uladzimir Rumanovich told ERB that 79 new bus-stops would appear after major repairs.
Uladzіmіr Rumanovіch: 79 bus-stops will appear after major repairs, they cannot be counted with kiosks, so do not include them there.
Additional 79 bus stops will cost 316 thousand dollars.
The city will not only allocate additional money for new bus-stops, it will also lose taxes paid by kiosks. According to the owner of a kiosk in Surhanava Street Syarhei Paplauski, he pays 5 millions every month.
Syarhei Paplauski: I pay 5 millions every month simply for having my kiosk there, and I also have to pay the income tax – it is about 1.5 millions. So it makes 6.5 millions spent only for taxes.
On the other hand, it takes a kiosk two months “to earn” the necessary amount of money to allow Minsk authorities to construct a new bus-stop.
Syarhei Marushchak: We have no written orders yet, only verbal ones because the city authorities have not allocated money for it yet. In general, a bus stop costs 5 million roubles depending on its construction, there are different kinds of bus-stops.
The head of Minsk Central District unitary enterprise “Remautador” Valery Makarevich says that there is no single pattern for all bus-stops: every company can work out its own pattern. They have planned to demolish 39 kiosks this year. New bus-stops will be installed in their places. We wondered how much money Central District planned to spend on a new bus-stop.
Valery Makarevіch: Well, about 8 millions if you take into account the vandalism prevention system. It is with the cost of installation. And to demolish a kiosk … we will only have to pay for transport services.
Not a single kiosk has been demolished in Central District yet. Parshamaiski District “Remautador” has its own plan – they will replace 56 kiosks by new bus-stops but they doubt they will be able to do it by the end of 2008 because companies producing bus-stops cannot perform all tasks so quickly.
ERB asked how many kiosks were to be demolished in Minsk but the department of trade and services of Minsk City Executive Committee does not answer the question referring to the fact that the final decision about kiosks has not been taken yet.
ERB has counted that if 50 kiosks in each Minsk district were replaced this year, it would cost … 1 million 800 thousand dollars (!). But it is not the final sum because major repairs of streets where new bus-stops will be installed instead of the old ones are also planned. The deputy director general of “Harremautador” Uladzimir Rumanovich told ERB that 79 new bus-stops would appear after major repairs.
Uladzіmіr Rumanovіch: 79 bus-stops will appear after major repairs, they cannot be counted with kiosks, so do not include them there.
Additional 79 bus stops will cost 316 thousand dollars.
The city will not only allocate additional money for new bus-stops, it will also lose taxes paid by kiosks. According to the owner of a kiosk in Surhanava Street Syarhei Paplauski, he pays 5 millions every month.
Syarhei Paplauski: I pay 5 millions every month simply for having my kiosk there, and I also have to pay the income tax – it is about 1.5 millions. So it makes 6.5 millions spent only for taxes.
On the other hand, it takes a kiosk two months “to earn” the necessary amount of money to allow Minsk authorities to construct a new bus-stop.
