Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on the construction of housing and Yangi Uzbekistan communities this year.

In order to provide decent living conditions for the population in all regions of the country, the construction of new housing is actively underway. Over the past four years, a new lending system has been introduced aimed at expanding access to mortgages. During this period, 100 trillion soums were allocated from all sources, which made it possible to build 6 thousand apartment buildings and provide new housing for 250 thousand families. Also, 45 thousand low-income families were provided with subsidies for down payments and interest payments.

Last year, 85 thousand housing units were built across the country, which is 1.5 times more than in 2022. Mortgage loans worth 17 trillion soums were provided to the population. This year it is planned to build 100 thousand housing units.

At the meeting, issues of cost and quality of new housing were considered, imbalances were identified, and instructions were given to reduce costs and improve the quality of construction. To increase supply in the housing market, additional land plots will be auctioned.

The President announced the provision of new opportunities for the population and builders. This year, 22.5 trillion soums will be allocated to finance mortgages from all sources. This includes almost 10 trillion soums for mortgage lending and 2.3 trillion soums to cover down payment and interest for 20 thousand low-income families.

An additional 500 billion soums will be allocated to replenish working capital of contracting organizations with the issuance of preferential loans. Banks will also participate in this process with their own funds.

This year, a “green” standard will be introduced in housing construction, providing contractors with preferential loans on terms lower by 1 percentage point, i.e. at 15 percent per annum. The Entrepreneurship Development Company will allocate 200 billion soums to provide guarantees and partial compensation of interest costs for contractors.

The requirement to insure mortgage housing transferred as collateral will be abolished. Families included in the poverty alleviation program and living in unsuitable housing will be issued mortgage loans for the construction and repair of their own housing in the amount of up to 120 million soums. At the same time, 15 percentage points of the loan, as well as up to 6 points of the annual interest rate in the first five years, will be covered from the budget.

Increasing the population’s access to mortgages plays an important role, and the Mortgage Refinancing Company plays a key role in this process. Over the past three years, its loan portfolio has exceeded 3 trillion soums. The company sets a goal to increase its authorized capital to US$100 million and expand the attraction of foreign funds.

Issues related to the construction of residential areas “Yangi Uzbekistan” were also discussed at the meeting. Currently, the construction of 38 such arrays has begun, and the construction of 17 more is planned during the current year. However, delays have been observed in some regions, including Surkhandarya, Andijan, Tashkent, Samarkand and Syrdarya regions.

In this regard, instructions were given to speed up construction work and approve the address list by area. The President emphasized that quality, meeting deadlines and cost-effectiveness should be important factors.

The need to strengthen the protection of the population during the construction of housing on a shared basis due to the actions of unscrupulous developers was also emphasized. Minimum requirements for the financial stability of construction and contracting organizations participating in land auctions will be established.

It was also noted that dilapidated housing in some regions will be renovated to provide its residents with modern conditions.

The Deputy Prime Minister and regional khokims reported on work plans for organizing construction work.