Poland starts building barrier on border with Belarus

Warsaw, Jan 26 (IANS) Poland has started construction of a 186-kilometre barrier along its border with Belarus, the Polish Border Guard has said.

The project will cost 1.6 Polish billion zloty ($395 million), Xinhua news agency reported.

Work started near the Mielnik Border Guard post. The Polish construction company Budimex has been contracted to erect a 105.5-kilometre stretch of the barrier, while Unibep, another firm, is to build the remaining 80.7 kilometres.

The barrier will consist of five-metres-tall steel posts holding concrete slabs with electrified barbed wire on top.

The barrier is being built on the basis of a law on border security, which entered into force last October. It was voted through Poland's Parliament in reaction to large numbers of migrants attempting to cross into Poland from Belarus.

The barrier is scheduled to be completed by the end of June.