Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has instructed Ukrainian Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Utilities Minister Anatoliy Blyzniuk to analyze the reasons for the fall in the volume of construction work in Ukraine, which was 8% over eight months of the current year, and amend the regulations if necessary to improve the situation.
"I have a question for Regional Development Minister Anatoliy Blyzniuk. We've adopted a law on urban development, simplified the procedure for launching construction, the commissioning of housing, cut the terms for the registration of rights to land plots, and so on, but it did not influence the volume of construction. So, I have a question – are they working at all or are there problems on sites?" Azarov said while opening a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday.
The premier noted that the government transferred to the regions almost UAH 2 billion in the form of subventions for social and economic development through the Regional Development Fund, which is 1.4 times more than last year.
"I'm asking, are there problems with their use? I'm asking you to analyze the situation and report on it at the next meeting of the cabinet. Propose amendments to the regulations if necessary and we'll consider them. All measures should be taken quickly, so as not to lose control over the situation," the premier said.
Azarov also instructed the heads of the regions where volumes of construction significantly dropped in January-August to analyze the situation and change it.
"I don't understand why in Crimea the volume of construction dropped by 33% over eight months this year, comparing to the same period last year. Zhytomyr region, Sevastopol, Kyiv, Cherkasy regions also saw a 15% decrease. I'm asking the governors of these regions, which allowed such a significant reduction in volumes of construction, to analyze thoroughly the situation and take the necessary measures to prevent a further slowdown of the tempo of construction," Azarov said.
"We are passing from mass tasks [the preparations for the Euro 2012 European Football Championship] to the implementation of other projects, for example the Affordable Housing program and new infrastructure construction projects. During this transitional period, the tempo of construction usually slows down," he said.
Earlier, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine reported that the value of construction in Ukraine in January-August 2012 fell by 8% year-on-year, to UAH 35.666 billion, while in January-July 2012 its fall was 6.2% on January-July 2011, and a 0.3% rise was seen in January-May year-over-year.
The volume of construction work dropped in 17 regions, Crimea and Sevastopol in January-August, and in Kyiv it amounted to 14.6%. The largest decline was registered in Zhytomyr region - by 23.8%, to UAH 341 million.
A decline of 9.4% was seen in the value of building and facility construction, to UAH 28.515 billion, a decline of 2.8% was registered in construction site preparation, to UAH 3.236 billion, a fall in the installation of engineering equipment by 2%, to UAH 3.662 million, was seen, spending on leasing construction machinery fell by 2.4%, to UAH 59 million.
