MINSK, 1 April (BelTA) – President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is dissatisfied with the performance of the country’s homebuilding industry. The President made the relevant statement at a government session held on 1 April to discuss the development of Belarus’ civil engineering. “I have to admit that we don’t yet have the output from the civil engineering industry that is proportionate to the investments it gets. One cannot say with confidence that we have learned how to build things fast, cheap and well”. The President reminded that during the crisis Belarus focused on civil engineering to let it pull out the entire economy. The tactics has already brought certain benefits, he said. Yet a lot of design errors are committed, too much money is spent correcting them, housing commissioning is delayed, prices for homes go beyond justified levels. Incomplete projects, which are unfit for operation, are accepted. The volume of unfinished buildings is huge, stressed Alexander Lukashenko. The head of state also pointed out that the industry’s potential is poorly used to increase the export of construction materials and services. “By the way, these are the things we can do as well as the world’s leading companies. We can design and build up to cutting-edge standards. But you go abroad only when you feel a rather sharp pitchfork in your backside,” the President was indignant. Alexander Lukashenko said in 2009 the export of civil engineering services shrank by 36.6% on the year to make up only $76.9 million. In the next few years the export of construction services must be increased several times, underlined the President. “The money spent by construction companies makes up a tiny bit of what the construction industry has had lately. It was the main source of earnings for construction companies. But horrible slackness from design phase to commissioning phase did not let the construction industry have a normal budget. It is intolerable,” the President made clear. The President also reminded that two years ago he issued the instruction to bring Belarus’ designing and construction standards up to speed with European Union ones by the end of 2009. “The instruction was given because a lot of businessmen had been complaining to me that we built according to XIX century standards, not even XX century ones. They complained about huge money poured into the construction industry and failure to keep up with the neighbors. I was told the same during the construction of Minsk Arena,” explained Alexander Lukashenko. “Where were members of the government when I gave these instructions? Did they fail to hear me? It turns out today I need to issue instructions again to get the latest standards that the world has been using for a long time discussed and introduced at last. It is good that in Venezuela we didn’t start building homes with huge thick walls like we do in frosty Belarus. It is good that we acted fast and didn’t start designing the way we are accustomed to,” said the Belarus President. Alexander Lukashenko said he expects answers to what has been done to introduce European standards, expand the geography and volume of export of Belarusian services, and attract foreign investments into Belarus’ construction industry. Alexander Lukashenko also said that enterprises run by the Architecture and Construction Ministry account for only several percent of the total volume of installation and construction work done in Belarus. “Where are your construction companies? Where did you hide them?” said the head of state. He wondered what was being done to coordinate the operation of other construction companies. The President singled out the problem of building homes for people in need. “What is being done to make homes more affordable? I address this question not only to the [Architecture and Construction] Minister but also the Chairman of the National Bank and representatives of local authorities,” said Alexander Lukashenko. “I would like the Architecture and Construction Minister, the Prime Minister and other cabinet members to inform me about the fulfillment of all the instructions I’ve given – from road construction to the introduction of European standards. I would like to see how honestly and responsibly members of the government work,” concluded the Belarus President. БЕЛТА
Written by belta.by
