Rustem Khamitov attended a meeting of the State Council

UFA, 18 May 2016. /Bashinform News Agency, Alexander Smirnov/. On May 17 in Moscow, the Head of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov took part in a meeting of the State Council devoted to the development of the building complex and improvement of urban planning activities.

Participants discussed measures for the development of a construction complex regarding implementation of investment projects, application of new technologies, legislation streamlining in the sphere of construction, use of public-private partnership mechanisms.

Opening the meeting, the Russian President Vladimir Putin noted the important role occupied by the construction industry in the national economy.

“The construction sector is a strategically important element of the country's socioeconomic development. It is also one of the most rapidly expanding and promising segments of the market, which accounts for nearly 6 percent of GDP,” said the head of the state. “This sector has the potential to become a key driver of economic growth, but only if its huge potential is realized in full.”

The Russian President marked the positive trend of the housing construction market over the past 10 years after the entry into force of the Urban Planning Code streamlining construction legislation. Only last year 85 million sq m of housing were commissioned in the country.

“However, the public demand for better housing has not been satisfied yet, which we can only do by using reliable market mechanisms such as the mortgage system,” said Vladimir Putin. “The mortgage system is a powerful driver of housing construction, and the Government and the Bank of Russia should certainly look for ways to lower the interest rate on mortgage loans and new methods for attracting investment in the mortgage system without increasing budget expenditures.

Another common way to purchase housing is a shared construction. However, often there is non-performance of its obligations by developers, which leads to the deceived investors.

To solve this problem, Vladimir Putin proposed to create a government housing construction compensation fund, but added that the mechanism would not only cover up other people's mistakes, inefficiency or, worse still, fraudulent deals.

Particular attention was paid by the head of the state to technical regulation and pricing in the construction industry. Besides, the Russian President stressed the importance of a balanced urban policy.