MINSK, 2 March (BelTA) – It is necessary to take measures to implement the directive on improving and developing the country's housing and utilities industry and the directive on priority directions of development of the civil engineering industry. Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko made the relevant statement at a session of the Council of Ministers' Presidium on 2 March, BelTA has learned.
Roman Golovchenko said: “The country's leadership pays close attention to the housing and utilities industry and the civil engineering industry because they are quite important for social and economic development and determine the nation's attitude to a large degree, including the nation's attitude to the government. Despite positive dynamics in some areas a number of requirements specified by presidential directives as well as other documents meant to further their implementation are not being properly fulfilled. I am talking about the major overhaul of the housing stock, replacement of heating pipelines, the organization of comprehensive single-family housing construction, and the construction of rented homes. Sufficient measures are not being taken to improve the effectiveness of management of solid municipal waste and secondary material resources. Payments to housing and utilities enterprises are not made on time and in full, thus worsening their financial state. I am talking about the financing of beautification and accomplishment work, the maintenance of facilities and installations, including non-core business ones, and failures of individuals and companies to pay for the housing and utility services they receive.”
The presence of considerable amounts of long-overdue housing construction and overdue major overhauls of the housing stock is a matter of great concern. The situation in Minsk is aggravated by regular failures to commission apartment houses on time. Despite the regulatory control of the construction of housing for people on the housing register in Minsk and satellite towns the city administration's work in this area is insufficient. This state of affairs is in need of critical rethinking. Measures should be taken at the level of people responsible for this work. Requirements of the presidential directives in this regard must be observed, the prime minister stressed.
In his words, on the whole the Belarusian civil engineering industry still contains a number of loss-making enterprises and a high level of debts to contractors. Last year's results indicate that work on foreign markets was insufficiently productive. It resulted in a decrease in the civil engineering industry's export of products and services. The work to improve the legislation that regulates interaction between participants of the construction process proceeds slowly although a lot was accomplished in this regard last year.
