Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his regular meeting on March 3 stressed the need to provide housing for all segments of the population and expand the opportunities for choice.
According to plans unveiled at the meeting, the government is to provide housing for 54,000 families this year. In particular, 45,000 houses are to be built under the state mortgage program.
“We have not seen a construction program on such a scale to date. Therefore, each mayor should closely deal with the housing issue and have accurate calculations. The biggest issue is the fair pricing of housing. Our people are dissatisfied with the current prices, ” said Mirziyoyev.
Mayors of regions, districts and cities were tasked to take measures to ensure that the cost of a square meter of housing did not exceed $400.
The meeting also considered the sources of financing for construction work. Over $1 billion is to be allocated this year towards these goals.
“There will be no shortage and no restrictions on financial resources for mortgage lending”, said the president.
Loans are set to be allocated for the construction and reconstruction of individual residential buildings for a period of 20 years. Low-income people can benefit from using subsidies to cover part of the interest.
Moreover, the government intends to provide large benefits to both builders and home buyers. In particular, a six-month grace period for mortgage loans is to be introduced this year. The down payment is to be reduced from 20% to 15%.
Payments on loans that exceed the rate of 12% in Tashkent and 10% in other regions are also to be subsidized.
The benefits granted to construction companies during the pandemic will be extended until the end of this year. The Entrepreneurship Support Fund is to provide construction organizations guarantees in the amount of up to $1.9 billion on loans for housing construction, as well as interest compensation 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. Regions are to be allocated funds for the purchase of thousands of apartments for rent.
“The most important issue is to create a fair system of fair application of the benefits provided, to raise awareness of our people about them,” added Mirziyoyev.
He urged creating public commissions with the participation of public activists to establish public control over the fair allocation of land to the developer, the formation of a list of needy families who were entitled to benefits, and the quality of construction. (Uzreport/Business World Magazine)