Kempinski: We are not building a hotel in Minsk

— Hey guys... What are you building here?
— A hotel.
— Will it be finished soon?
— God knows. We only do the interior. We are told we will have work till the winter. We will not reveal how it is going with the other departments...

The two construction workers with milk containers in their hands near the building of the circus seem not to be very talkative.

The official stand says a multi-functional complex and a Kempinski hotel is being built here. Yet, the press office if the Kempinski Hotel in Moscow tells Euroradio they have no contracts in Belarus. One can find no plans for Kempinski hotels development on the development plans website.

"We are not longer part of this project as Kempinski. As of today, we have no single agreement signed in Belarus."

The head of Minsk City Hall Mikalai Laducka would also stress a Kempinski hotel complex is actually being built.

"It is hard to exxagerate the importance of this project.  Kempinski is located in 140 countries of the world. You end up in Cape Town and you see in your hotel's travel guide that there is a hotel by Kempinski in Minsk. It is important to us to open up in this sense..."  he said.

There were statements that the Kempinski hotel would be opened in April 2014 right for the the kick-off the Ice Hickey World Cup .

The documents set out clear that a Kempinski hotel was being built in Minsk to welcome the guests of the world championships. The imported materials exempt from the tax duties included benefits for many officials involved in the process .

However, even with the lucrative benefits around, the hotel was not ready by the time of the championship.

Moreover, Euroradio has learned  that the Kempinski network has nothing to do with what had been drawn on the fence around.