Rustam Minnikhanov makes a report to Vladimir Putin on the development of the construction industry and housing and utility services

On June 21, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov took part in a video-link meeting of the Presidium of the Russian State Council on the issues of «The Strategy of development of the Construction Industry and Housing and Utility Sector till 2030 with a forecast up to 2035», chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin with participation of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin, Minister of Construction and Housing and Utilities of Russia Irek Fayzullin and heads of the country’s constituent entities.

During the meeting, Putin emphasized the need to build billions of square meters of housing. According to him, Russia still lags behind many countries in the level of housing provision for citizens.

He said that the money invested in this sector comes back to the state budget with a good return and brings profit to banks and investors.

Khusnullin emphasized that the Strategy for the development of the construction industry and housing and utility services is self-financing. "We see that the multiplier effects of investment in the construction industry on 1 invested rouble give 1.47 added value in the economy, including 39 kopecks - taxes to the budget. That is, the program is self-financing - the more we invest in it - the more we get", the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation said.

In his turn, Fayzullin said that by 2030 the level of housing supply of Russians should be 34 square meters per person. During his speech, Chairman of the Commission of the State Council of the Russian Federation in «Construction, housing and utility services and urban environment» Minnikhanov outlined a number of proposals for further development of the construction industry and modernization of housing and utility complex. The speech of the President of Tatarstan reads:

“Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich! Dear colleagues! At the meeting of the Commission of the State Council of Russia in “Construction, housing and utility services and the urban environment”, we have considered in detail the draft Strategy for the Development of the Construction Industry and Housing and Utilities of Russia until 2030 with a forecast for the period up to 2035. All regions took an active part in this work and sent their proposals. In general, the draft Strategy is supported by all regions.

First of all, this is the transition to escrow accounts for shared construction, which allowed to secure the funds of our citizens. Today, about 83 per cent of housing in the country is built according to the rules of escrow. The mechanism of escrow accounts has worked effectively. We would ask to reduce the time for developers to receive funds by ensuring the disclosure of accounts after receiving a conclusion on the conformity of the constructed facility. Saving time in this case will be from 2 weeks to 2 months. It is necessary to work out this mechanism.

In addition, a fund on addressing the problem of deceived shareholders was established. This systematically reduces tension, and helps to commission problem houses.

A programme of preferential mortgages was adopted, which helped to support the construction industry during the pandemic, within its framework, 776 thousand mortgage loans were issued in the amount of 2.3 trillion roubles.

A law on the integrated development of territories was also adopted, allowing more efficient use of the potential of urban spaces and existing infrastructure.

One of the most pressing issues for the country is the state and development of the housing and utility services system. This is a significant industry, the work of which affects every citizen of the country.

The main problem of network deterioration. This is a consequence of the accumulated over the last decades the underrepair. According to the Russian Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utility Services, about 31 per cent of the heat supply networks, more than 45 per cent of the water disposal networks and more than 43 per cent of the water supply require the replacement in the country.

The need for funding to eliminate underrepairs and bring the public utilities to a normative state requires at least 4.5 trillion roubles in the country as a whole.

One of the large and socially significant programmes is the programme of major repair of multi-apartments housing. For its efficient implementation, it is necessary to expand the list of permitted types of work, including on repair of non-common property. It is also necessary to synchronize the Major Repair Housing Programme with the Public Utilities and Transport Infrastructure Modernization Programme.

In the area of increased attention, especially in the winter, there are issues of cleaning the courtyards of multi-apartment buildings. The main problem is the lack of technical equipment in housing organizations. Using the positive experience in the agro-industrial complex, the provision of soft loans for the purchase of special equipment could be the solution of the issue," Tatarstan President concluded.

Putin emphasized that in his report, Minnikhanov outlined issues relevant for all entities of the country.