22 April, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Almost 60,000 families in the Vitebsk region will move into new homes this year thanks to amendments made to Decree No. 13, which regulates the housing construction sector. This was reported to BELTA correspondent by Anatoly Diulin, Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee. Before the adoption of Decree No. 184, citizens building housing who were not covered by Decree No. 13 were forced to take out construction loans at high interest rates – 36% per annum. It was difficult for people, and many found themselves in a deadlock. Thanks to the amendments, these developers have been given the opportunity to obtain additional loans on the previous terms. The essence of Decree No. 184 is that preferential loans will be provided to citizens who concluded loan agreements before Decree No. 13 "On Certain Issues of Providing State Support to Citizens for the Construction (Reconstruction) or Acquisition of Residential Premises" of 6 January 2012 came into force, and the servicing of these loan agreements within their validity period will be carried out on the terms stipulated by the concluded loan agreements and the legislation in force at the time of their conclusion (taking into account the provision of deferral in accordance with part 2 of subparagraph 1.12 of paragraph 1 of Decree No. 13). "Thus, a huge number of apartments, the construction of which began in 2011 and was planned for commissioning in 2012, will be additionally financed on the old terms. In the Vitebsk region, this amounts to 170,000 sq. m of housing, for which approximately Br150 billion will be allocated. Almost 60,000 families will be able to move into their new homes this year," Anatoly Diulin reported. The possibility of not halting the construction of houses planned for commissioning in 2013 has also emerged. The Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee explained that citizens who have gained the opportunity to obtain additional loans on the previous terms should contact the financing bank, usually "Belarusbank", in the coming days. City and district executive committees confirm the citizens' need for additional lending, prepare lists, and submit them to the bank.