In Irkutsk region last year only 540 thousand square meters of housing were commissioned instead of the planned one million, and the government explains this by a liquidity crisis. Individual construction played a notable role, accounting for over 26 percent of all new housing, and in 19 municipalities it provided 100 percent of new housing. In 2009 the region expects growth through the resettlement program from dilapidated and unsafe housing and plans to deliver about 600 thousand square meters.
Yesterday, a meeting of the government of the Irkutsk Region was held, at which Minister of Construction Ruslan Bolotov stated that 540,000 sq. meters of housing were built in the region last year, whereas it had been planned to commission 1 million sq. meters.The main reason for this situation, R. Bolotov says, is a liquidity crisis.
At the same time, the regional construction minister clarified that individual housing construction in the region accounted for 26% of the total volume of housing commissioned in 2008. The population, at its own expense and with the help of loans, built 124.4 thousand sq. m in 2008, which amounted to more than 26% of the total volume of housing commissioned. In 32 municipalities, the share of housing built by individual developers exceeded 50%, including in 19 municipalities it amounted to 100% of the total volume commissioned.
Among the municipalities, Irkutsk showed the highest housing commissioning figure - 295.7 thousand sq. m. Three territories failed to meet the established plan - Usolye-Sibirskoye, Angarsk, and Shelekhov districts.
Meanwhile, this year construction volumes may increase thanks to the resettlement program from dilapidated and emergency housing. If last year the region received 360 million rubles under this program, this year it is already counting on more than 2 billion. The funds are expected to come from the Fund for Assistance to Housing and Utilities Reform.
Thus, in 2009 the region plans to commission about 600 thousand square meters of housing.