Nikita Stasishin, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Construction of Russia
Photo: Yulia PYKHALOVA
At the Russia-Africa forum, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Construction of Russia Nikita Stasishin visited the open studio of Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda, where he spoke about plans for the development of relations between Russia and African countries.
“THERE IS SOMETHING TO SHARE”
– Nikita Evgenievich, what agreements have been signed or are planned to be signed at the Russia-Africa forum?
– This morning we signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Republic of Congo. A meeting was held with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, we discussed contact points in the field of a comfortable urban environment, smart city, construction technologies, relations on the development of cities, the creation of a better and more comfortable life for citizens. We agreed that in the future, we will harmonize our standards with the relevant Ministry of Construction and Urban Planning of the Republic of Congo and share our experience gained over the years in terms of creating a comfortable living environment.
In a few minutes we will have a meeting with Madagascar, then Zimbabwe will sign a memorandum. We are working intensively with Algeria on cooperation on technical regulations and standardization of procedures. With South Africa, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, my colleagues from the ministry are participating in the videoconference mode.
Our work with Africa began a long time ago. Today it has reached a new level. And it will only go deeper. We have much to share with our friends in Africa.
– What other initiatives are planned with African partners?
– We plan to develop the direction of construction of individual prefabricated housing. Let’s see how we can apply our non-capital building technologies to the development of primary health care. These are FAPs, modules that are assembled and do not require connection to backbones. In the last ten years, we have come a long way in terms of construction, communal infrastructure and the use of new technologies. In each of the areas – medicine, education, housing, a comfortable urban environment, public services – we have formed truly effective solutions through trial and error. We are ready to share these decisions in any of the areas belonging to the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Public Services of Russia at the first request of our colleagues from Africa.
PRINT THE FULL HAIL POTENTIAL
– What are the results of the construction complex in Russia in 2023?
In the first half of the year, around 52 million square meters were commissioned, a decrease of less than 1% compared to last year. The main thing is that we see an increase in the indicator of multi-apartment housing by 10% compared to the same period. This means that the support measures that were declared and implemented on behalf of the President of our country in the year of the pandemic, with the beginning of the New World Order: mortgage subsidies, project financing, a moratorium (everything related to the reduction of administrative procedures, the work of the headquarters under the leadership of Marat Shakirzyanovich Khusnullin and the Minister of Construction, Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation, Irek Envarovich Fayzullin), all this led to the fact that today, taking into account the three-year cycle, we see the real result. And most importantly, we are doing everything we can together with the regions to reach at least last year’s figures. And in the past, more than 102 million square meters were commissioned, this is an absolute record in terms of housing commissioning in the entire history of our country.
We set ourselves the task of reaching the total start-up of 50 million square meters in the country this year for multi-apartment homes. The mortgage portfolio is growing, taking into account project financing, escrow accounts, the industry feels stable. Building housing, investing in them, buying to improve housing conditions, first of all, at the construction stage, is absolutely safe for our citizens.
What challenges do you see for the Russian construction industry in an era of global change?
– If we are talking about the Russian construction complex outside the cuWe cannot reduce the volume of housing under construction and print all the urban potential that exists, while ensuring the construction of housing with the necessary engineering, transport and social infrastructure. At the same time, without increasing the cost per square meter, so that apartments at the expense of existing preferential mortgage mechanisms can remain affordable for our citizens. We’ve been through the last three difficult years with our heads held high. We want to become head and shoulders above our industry.
