VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Vladimir Putin's opening address:
Good afternoon,
Yesterday, President Dmitry Medvedev delivered his annual address to the Federal Assembly.
He laid out the priorities of social and economic development, which is within the Government's sphere of responsibility. In this context, we have been instructed to promptly draft proposals on implementing these ideas.
Housing is one of the most important economic and social issues. It has
remained more urgent in Russia than in any other civilized country for
decades.
The provision of housing for war veterans and army servicemen is a
priority, and as we have promised, we will do everything in 2010 to
fulfill these government commitments.
Today I suggest discussing the further development of housing
construction as a whole, and determining priorities for 2010. We should
also decide how to efficiently use available resources.
At first glance it seems better to not even touch on this problem because it is never ending, complicated and urgent, as I have admitted more than once. But we know a popular proverb: "What the eyes fear, the hands do." If we do nothing, nothing will be achieved. On the other hand, no matter how intricate a problem may be, it can be resolved with a systemic approach.
In 2008, 64 million square meters of housing were built. This is a record figure in Russia's entire history. This year, our target was 52 million square meters. In January-September of this year, 35 million square meters of housing were commissioned.
Considering the seasonal rates of completing construction, we will reach this target by the end of this year, and maybe even surpass it a bit.
However, this is based on what was already done in 2007 and 2008. We must create the conditions for launching new construction projects in order to avoid failures and preserve the current development rates.
In effect, the state is now the main customer in the housing market, and we have an opportunity to take an active part in forming the supply of housing. Before, too little attention was paid to this issue.
We must encourage the construction of affordable, comfortable, energy efficient, eco friendly housing.
We could make low-rise construction one of our priorities. It is essential to develop an industry of building materials and introduce relevant technology.
We must adopt standards and determine the price range of economy-class housing as soon as possible. Smart general plans for property development will help reduce the costs of housing construction.
The allocation of land for construction, and developing the required infrastructure are major concerns. We know that, regrettably, it has a very high price tag.
The Housing Development Support Fund was established for this purpose. This autumn it staged the first auctions to sell plots of land. I would like to hear about the results of these auctions, and also about the implementation of the Fund's projects for large-scale construction of economy-class housing.
Additionally, today we will review the work of the Housing and Utilities Reform Fund, primarily its progress in relocating people from hazardous dwellings.
We must pull our people out of the slums. This is one of our major social and political tasks. This is simply our duty to our citizens who still live in such miserable conditions.
And, finally, there is one more important subject. The Federal Targeted Programme "Home" is supposed to be completed next year. The Regional Development Ministry was instructed to draft a resolution on its extension to 2015, to consider new tasks in housing construction, and to integrate all available government tools for increasing the scale of construction and making housing more affordable for average citizens.
I would like to emphasize that this programme must be ready in December.
Let's get down to work.
