MINSK - China will build as many as 22 apartment buildings for Belarus as part of the second stage of Belarus-China public welfare housing construction project.

A ceremony to launch the second stage of the project took place on Friday in Smolevichi, Minsk region. Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Fu Ziying, Belarusian Economy Minister Vladimir Zinovsky and Belarusian First Deputy Architecture and Construction Minister Alexander Kruchanov attended the ceremony.

During the second stage, 22 apartment houses with 1,854 apartments will be built in various parts of the country.

The Belarusian-Chinese public welfare housing construction project envisages building 58 apartment houses in Minsk and the regions in three stages. China intends to allocate about 102 million U.S. dollars for it.

With China's technical and economic assistance, the first stage has been completed with 1,432 apartments built in 16 houses across the country. The first stage took about two years to complete.