Belarus’ first energy-efficient daycare center opens Minsk

Belarus’ first energy-efficient daycare center was opened in the Tsentralny District of Minsk on 29 December, BelTA learned.

The new pre-school education institution has been assigned number No. 32. It has been built in accordance with the instructions of the President and in line with the plan to develop cooperation with RIKO Company (Slovenia) in the manufacturing and energy sectors. The Slovenian company donated the daycare center to the city of Minsk. The event was timed to coincide with the nationwide charity campaign Our Children.

The opening ceremony was attended by Chairman of the Minsk City Hall Andrei Shorets, Assistant to the President - Head Inspector for the city of Minsk Alexander Yakobson, Riko CEO Janez Skrabec, First Deputy Minister of Architecture and Construction, Alexander Kruchanov, head of the administration of Tsentralny District of Minsk Anna Matelskaya and chairman of the education committee of the Minsk City Hall Mikhail Mironchik.

"This daycare is the country’s first child care institution built to the European energy efficiency standards: with energy input of 39.4 kWh per 1 m2,” said Alexander Kruchanov. He also noted that the Ministry of Architecture and Construction intends to pay great attention to the construction of similar buildings in Belarus.

Minsk Mayor Andrei Shorets thanked Riko Company for the social project. "I am sure the daycare center will become popular with local kids where they will feel comfortable," said Andrei Shorets.

For his part, Janez Skrabec said that the company has been operating in Belarus for twenty years already. It takes part in upgrade projects, including in the power engineering sector. “Riko has been successfully operating in Belarus for many years. We see our cooperation with Belarusian partners as fruitful. However, we want to make a contribution to the development of Belarus’ social sector,” he noted. Janez Skrabec pointed out that the company that built the daycare center has experience in the construction of environmentally-friendly homes and daycare facilities in Europe. “We have used state-of-the-art architecture and construction technologies. Each square meter of space in the center serves for children's development,” Riko CEO Janez Skrabec stressed.

The daycare center was built in record time. The construction took nine months. Only environmentally-friendly materials were used, mainly wood. The center has opened up new opportunities for the implementation of innovative preschool education ideas. Apart from the traditional services, it offers lessons in aesthetic development, physical training, and the English language on a paying basis.