18 March, Mozyr /Valery Sidorchik - BELTA/. The Ministry of Architecture and Construction of Belarus proposes to repeal the decision on mandatory interior finishing of housing built using preferential loans. This was announced today in Mozyr at a republican meeting by the Minister of Architecture and Construction of Belarus Anatoly Nichkasov, a BELTA correspondent reports. The event is dedicated to the issues of fulfilling the housing construction target in 2011 and increasing the effectiveness of combating the activities of sham enterprises in the construction complex. According to Anatoly Nichkasov, a proposal has already been submitted to the Council of Ministers to make the interior finishing of housing built using preferential loans not mandatory, but subject to the written consent of co-investors. The decision on mandatory finishing of preferential housing, adopted in 2010, led to an increase in construction costs and an extension of its construction timelines. Due to the difficulties faced by builders with housing finishing during the cold season, many citizens have complained about the quality of the apartments handed over. This, as well as insufficient funding for the subordinate sector, Anatoly Nichkasov considers the main reasons that will affect the underachievement of the housing commissioning target in the first quarter. According to preliminary data, in the first quarter of 2011, 1.2 million square meters of housing will be built in Belarus, which will amount to 16% of the annual target, although initially it was planned to achieve 20%. The volume of housing commissioned in January-March 2011 will be 87% compared to the same period last year.-0-

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