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Lukashenka inaugurates ice hockey arena in Pruzhany, Brest region

Alyaksandr Lukashenka on July 27 inaugurated an ice hockey arena in Pruzhany, a city of 25,000 residents in the Brest region.

The Belarusian leader expressed confidence that arenas similar to the Ice Palace in Pruzhany would soon appear in each district center in the country.

"This is not an entertainment facility, this is a facility of our economy," he said. "By developing the sports infrastructure, we boost our economy."

"I by no means regret having spent money on the construction of such palaces," Mr. Lukashenka said. "Experience shows that such ice rinks are in demand among people."

According to him, the government considers manufacturing gear for ice hockey and other sports domestically. He said that he devotes much attention to ice hockey not because he loves this game but because this is a very expensive and complicated sport. "If the state had not paid attention to the construction of ice palaces, then we, our people and our children would not have been able to play this game all the year round," he explained. "The children who are standing here before me will receive a big dose of health here. Our Pruzhany residents will be the healthiest people."

Mr. Lukashenka noted that Belarus currently has about 500 sports schools that provide training for more than 200,000 boys and girls.