Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 3 March, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a video conference on measures to develop housing and the mortgage market.

As the population grows, so does the need for housing. From the very beginning of his tenure as head of state, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev pays special attention to this topical issue and initiates measures to provide the population with housing. By presidential decrees from 21 October and 22 November 2016, programs for the construction of affordable housing in rural and urban areas were adopted. Over the past four years, 140,000 housing units have been built under the programs. This is 4-5 times higher than the average annual values of housing construction for the previous period.

However, many families still need housing. There are many appeals from citizens on this issue. Life itself requires an increase in the pace of housing construction, an improvement in the quality of design and construction, and the training of qualified specialists.

At today’s video conference, the tasks in the field were discussed.

The President stressed the need to provide housing for all segments of the population and expand opportunities for choice.

To this end, it is planned to provide housing for 54 thousand families this year. In particular, 45 thousand houses will be built under the state mortgage program.

Including, the engineering companies "Qishloq Qurilish Invest" and "Uzshahar Qurilish Invest" will commission 12 thousand houses, at the expense of the resources allocated by the Ministry of Finance by a commercial bank, housing will be built for 26.5 thousand apartments, houses for 8 thousand apartments will be built by private entrepreneurs. Up to 500 families in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and all regions - a total of 6.5 thousand families will receive loans for the construction of individual housing. In addition, a thousand families, especially women who find themselves in difficult life situations and who are left homeless, will be provided with social housing on a lease basis.

In the context of regions, housing construction is planned in the following volume: in Karakalpakstan - 2,290, in Andijan oblast - 4,665, in Bukhara oblast - 3,220, in Jizzakh oblast - 1,670, in Kashkadarya - 3,710, in Navoi oblast - 1,836, in Namangan oblast - 4025, in Samarkand region - 4479, in Surkhandarya - 3989, in Syrdarya - 1414, in Tashkent region - 4046, in Fergana region - 4530, in Khorezm - 3016, in the city of Tashkent - 7 556 units.

- Until this day, we have not yet carried out a construction program of such a volume. Therefore, each hokim must come to grips with the housing issue and have accurate calculations. The biggest question is fair housing prices. Our people are dissatisfied with the current prices, - said Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

In this regard, the khokims of regions, districts and cities have been tasked to take measures so that the cost per square meter of housing does not exceed 4 million soums, by arranging the supply of inexpensive building materials from nearby manufacturers.

For example, the cost of construction can be reduced by organizing the production of aerated concrete blocks locally. The Uzstandard agency was instructed to bring the relevant standards to the producers of aerated concrete blocks in each region and to certify their products.

The meeting also considered sources of financing for construction work. It was noted that 11 trillion 500 billion soums will be allocated within the framework of the program for providing the population with housing this year.

“Starting this year, there will be no shortage and any restrictions on financial resources for mortgage lending, if the regions provide additional proposals, they will be resolved positively,” the head of state said.

It has been determined that loans will also be allocated for the construction and reconstruction of individual residential buildings. They will be provided for a period of 20 years. Low-income people will be able to take advantage of subsidies to cover part of the interest. The Ministry of Finance was instructed to allocate 1.5 trillion soums for these purposes, and the khokims of the regions were instructed to determine the number of families in the context of districts that will receive such support.

The state provides great benefits to both builders and home buyers. In particular, a six-month grace period for mortgage loans will be introduced this year. In cities, the down payment will be reduced from 20 to 15 percent.

Low-income families in need of better housing conditions will receive a subsidy of 10 percent of the down payment; buyers will only need to pay 5 percent of the down payment.

Payments on loans will also be subsidized in the part that exceeds the rate of 12 percent in Tashkent and 10 percent in other regions.

It was also announced that the benefits provided to construction companies during the pandemic will be extended until the end of this year. In particular, the Entrepreneurship Support Fund will provide construction organizations with guarantees for up to 20 billion soums on loans for housing construction, as well as compensation for interest in the part exceeding the base rate of the Central Bank.

The meeting also touched upon the issues of providing families in difficult living conditions with housing on the basis of social rent. It was noted that the regions will be allocated funds for the purchase of thousands of apartments for rent.

At the same time, it was pointed out that it is necessary to further expand this practice, including by subsidizing part of the rent or providing socially rented rooms in unused hostels.

Responsible persons were instructed to develop an appropriate procedure and form a list of families in greatest need.

“The most important issue is to create a fair system of fair use of the provided benefits, to raise awareness of our people about them,” the President said.

In this regard, it was proposed to create public commissions with the participation of deputies of local kengashs, public activists. They will establish public control over the fair allocation of land to the developer, the formation of a list of needy families entitled to benefits, and the quality of construction. The residents of the mahallas will be widely informed about the opportunities created in the area.

The Ministry of Finance was instructed to draw up a list of citizens eligible for subsidies on the basis of social criteria by 1 June and automate this process. The Ministry for the Development of Information Technologies and Communications was instructed to launch a mortgage web portal by 1 May, which will provide information on lending and subsidizing procedures, housing and developers being sold.

The head of state paid special attention to the quality of construction. It was emphasized that information about each project should be published on the mortgage web portal and be publicly available; it is necessary to provide potential home buyers with the opportunity to control the quality of construction.

The importance of attracting highly qualified specialists and financially stable contractors with a modern material and technical base, based on a rating system, was noted. The implementation of technical control over housing erected according to the new procedure is entrusted to the territorial services of a single customer.

The heads of industries and departments provided information on the issues discussed at the meeting.