Republic

Belarus to cheapen cost and cut terms of housing construction

Belarus has been taking measures to cheapen the cost and cut the terms of housing construction, Minister of Architecture and Construction of Belarus Alexander Seleznev reported to President Alexander Lukashenko on July 30, BelTA learnt in the Presidential Press Service. Alexander Seleznev reported about the implementation of instructions issued by the President when the former was appointed Minister of Architecture and Construction in May 2006. The President was told about civil engineering performance in H1 2007. On the whole, the housing construction programme progresses well in Belarus. Only two regions are lagging behind — Minsk City (72% of the H1 2007 target) and the Vitebsk oblast (96.8%). Improvement of the housing construction was in the highlights as well. Thus, the blocks of flats built in the middle of the past century (the so-called Khrushchev-era homes) have to be upgraded to secure new housing quality. The President gave an instruction to increase housing construction in Belarus. In particular, as many as 1.5 million square meters of new homes are set to be built in Minsk, with the participatory construction mechanism used. Recently the shared construction has become virtually nonexistent in Belarus. This fueled a higher demand for housing with the prices going up as high as $2,000 per one square meter of newly-build apartments in Minsk. Alexander Lukashenko urged the government to put forward offers on shared construction stimulation. Alexander Seleznev noted that the average price of one square meter of housing subsidized by the government is $424. There was a 10-11% increase in prices on construction and assembly works but the Minister assured that the issue is under control of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction and that the housing prices will not exceed the established price level by the end of the year. The President heard a report about the state of affairs in the glass industry, in particular, at Nioman Glass Factory and Borisov Cut-Glass Factory. The President and the Minister also discussed a possibility of founding of a breastplate Honorary Constructor of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction as an addition stimulus for the people engaged in the construction industry.