President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will supervise a session of the State Council's Presidium here today

Friday, October 18, 2019

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Those taking part in the session will discuss inexpensive housing programs. Talking to Cabinet members the other day, Putin noted the need to adopt decisions that could be implemented already in the near future. "The working group has drafted a number of proposals that must tally with the state's economic potential and the Government's economic plans. On the whole, we must conduct a detailed discussion for the sake of solving one of the most pressing national problems," the Russian leader noted. Chelyabinsk-region governor Peter Sumin, who heads the working group, will deliver the main report at the session. According to Sumin, the price of one square meter of housing in this country went up by an average of 26 percent last year. Meanwhile similar Moscow prices skyrocketed by 45 percent. Due to that huge gap between supply and demand, the market price of one square meter of housing exceeds its prime cost by 150 percent. "The working group has drafted quite a few serious documents," Sumin noted. Mortgage loans must become the main instrument for solving these problems. However, we must enhance the state's role for this purpose," Sumin went on to say. In his May 2004 state-of-the-nation address, the Russian leader said that inexpensive housing programs were a topical and top-priority task. "Most Russian citizens still perceive this as a very painful issue," Putin said. "Even rising incomes do not always enable people to buy homes and apartments and to improve their quality. Quite a few people still live in dilapidated and rundown homes and apartments. Housing-construction volumes are rather small. Meanwhile new housing does not always match modern safety-and-quality standards," the Russian head of state noted back then. Putin ordered the Government and regional authorities to enable at least one-third of all Russian citizens to buy apartments with the help of their own savings and mortgage loans by 2010. According to Putin, only ten percent of all Russians can do this today.

Bookmark President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will supervise a session of the State Council's Presidium here today