Lack of building materials
According to the latest research by the Ministry of Regional Development, the reason that half of Russian regions lag behind the average rate of housing commissioning in the country is the lack of construction materials. Despite the fact that the country needs about 20 new cement plants and about 30 plants of non-metallic building materials, manufacturers are in no hurry to open new large-scale production facilities due to the weak investment attractiveness of such projects.
At the working meeting, which was held in the department, the current situation with the production of building materials was discussed. Thus, the production of wall materials (bricks, aerated concrete) averages 0.24 cubic meters per person per year, and reinforced concrete products — 0.25 cubic meters. Comparing the regions ' indicators on housing commissioning and the volume of construction materials production, experts concluded that almost half of them will not be able to reach the national average (0.45 cubic meters per person per year) precisely because of the lack of construction materials. Among them, for example, the Altai and Primorsky Territories, Ivanovo and Tver regions.
"According to preliminary estimates, it is necessary to build about 20 cement plants, 10 glass plants, more than 30 enterprises for the production of non — metallic materials and 15 that produce thermal insulation materials, reconstruct about 200 existing enterprises for the production of precast concrete and build 15 new ones," said Deputy Minister of Regional Development Sergey Vakhrukov. In addition, the official clarified that there are no calculations of the necessary investments yet. Various state support measures are provided to encourage the construction of capacities. "There are two priority regions — Siberia and the Far East, where it is possible to subsidize interest rates on loans, preferential taxation, and provide state guarantees," he said. According to officials from the Ministry of Regional Development, the expectation that new factories for the production of building materials will be built in connection with preparations for major events — the APEC forum in Vladivostok, the Universiade in Kazan, the Olympic Games in Sochi-was not justified. There are no more factories, they are located irrationally, and transport costs account for an average of 18% of the cost price. According to statistics, in 2012, 65.7 million square meters of housing were commissioned in Russia (in 2011 — 62.3 million square meters, in 2010-58.4 million square meters).
The authorities strive to ensure that at least 1 square meter of housing per person is built annually in the country. According to the Ministry of Regional Development, among the leaders are the Moscow Region — 0.98 square meters per person in 2012, the Krasnodar Territory (0.8 square meters) and the Belgorod Region (0.79 square meters).
It is worth noting that if it is more profitable for cement producers to modernize existing plants, then for the production of gypsum materials and dry building mixes that require less investment, it is quite acceptable to build production from scratch.