Large-panel housing construction in Belarus will be radically reformed by the end of 2010

August 26, Minsk /Natalia Verbitskaya - BELTA/. Large-panel housing construction in Belarus will be completely reformed by the end of 2010. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the Ministry of Architecture and Construction. The total capacity of all large-panel housing construction organizations and house-building plants (both subordinate to the Ministry of Architecture and Construction and of municipal ownership) should increase to 2.99 million sq.m by the end of 2010. At the beginning of the current year, it was 1.4 million sq.m, and by the end of the year, it should increase to 1.6 million sq.m per year. In total, 8 million sq.m of housing is planned to be built in Belarus in 2010, of which 2.040 sq.m should be large-panel housing construction. Large-scale reconstruction awaits 8 large-panel housing organizations subordinate to the Ministry of Architecture and Construction. To date, the first batches of new equipment have arrived at three of them: RUP "Mogilev DSK", RUP "Vitebsk DSK", OAO "Gomel DSK". The re-equipment of these enterprises is carried out using advanced Western technologies and equipment (Germany, Italy), which are not produced in Belarus and CIS countries. The remaining organizations are conducting tender bidding for equipment supply. After all tenders are completed, the total amount of investment required for modernization will be determined. Borrowed funds and funds from the innovation fund of the Ministry of Architecture and Construction will be used for reconstruction. According to research, the construction of large-panel residential buildings is 15-30% cheaper than other structural and technological systems and is approximately as much faster in construction speed. In recent years, there has been a reorientation of the construction complex towards frame systems of residential buildings and brick houses. At the same time, as early as 1991, large-panel houses accounted for more than 55% of the total volume of housing built in Belarus. The accelerated completion of the reconstruction of house-building plants is envisaged by the State Comprehensive Program for the Development of the Material and Technical Base of the Construction Industry for 2006-2010. The main goal of modernization is to improve the consumer qualities of large-panel housing and reduce its cost. -0-