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Putin orders to set up Ministry of Construction Industry, Housing and Utilities Sector

Russia's President: construction is to a certain degree the economy driver
Photo ITAR-TASS/ Alexey Nikolski
Photo ITAR-TASS/ Alexey Nikolski

NOVO-OGARYOVO, November 1 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Public Utilities will be established in Russia. He invited former governor of Ivanovo Oblast Mikhail Men to head the ministry.

“A decision has been made to form a new ministry,” Putin said at a meeting with Men. “I’d like to offer you the post of the minister,” he told Men.

“I hope that you will be able to the best advantage use your experience gained during the work in the Moscow mayor’s office and as governor,” he added, wishing Mikhail Men success.

The president said, explaining the reason for the establishment of the ministry that “construction is to a certain degree the economy driver.” “And with regard to housing, needless to say - we are already sick and tired of problems in this sphere,” he stressed.

“Needless to say how important it is for every Russian family, how difficult it is, bearing in mind the problems in the economy and the accumulated imbalances,” Putin said.

“I would like you to make the best use of your rich experience in the work,” the president repeated, addressing the new head of the ministry.

Men said that he realised that he took the full responsibility. “However, in recent years it’s been my everyday work, so all the questions are clear,” he said.

According to him, he has managed to attract one billion roubles in investment in the housing and public utilities sector in the Ivanovo region. “So when they say that the housing and utilities sector is unprofitable they are wrong,” Men said.

He sees among the priority tasks for the new ministry the legal framework finalisation, in particular, for depriving the resource suppliers of the opportunity to shift the responsibility on to law-abiding citizens. Another important issue is the creation of funds for repairs of apartment buildings, as well as constant monitoring of the level of tariffs in order to prevent their growth. Men also intends to give a new impetus to the programmes of resettlement of citizens from hazardous dwellings.

The new minister also outlined key objectives in the construction sphere. “It is necessary to improve the work aimed at comprehensive building and infrastructure development, as well as putting of new land plots into circulation to cut construction costs,” he added.