The Vitebsk oblast territorial fund Vitebskoblimuschestvo will arrange the first auction on December 17 to sell unused real estate with the starting price set at one basic amount (Br35,000 as of December 1), head of Vitebskoblimuschestvo’s auctions department Larisa Scheglova told BelTA. Four unfinished buildings with the total area of 5,400 square metres in the Polotsk region have been put up for auction. Their readiness varies from 9% to 29%. Their market value exceeds Br1 billion. Buyers will have to use the buildings for business purposes, create jobs, and are forbidden to sell or alienate by any other means the buildings before the conditions are fully met. Larisa Scheglova explained, the possibility of selling buildings for one basic amount was introduced by presidential decree No 108 of February 27, 2007 “Certain measures for involving unused state property into economic circulation”. The decree allows gratuitous handover of unused buildings for business projects. The Vitebsk oblast can use the option to make 26 unused national property objects and nine oblast municipal property objects part of the economic circulation early next year. According to the source, businessmen from Lepel, Orsha and Polotsk have already come up with business projects they may use unused buildings for. These projects provide for creating companies for producing lifting equipment, transformers and construction materials in rural areas.