Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, on 11 September, at the seventh plenary meeting of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, the discussion centered on the results of a parliamentary inquiry sent to the Cabinet of Ministers on problems in the process of building affordable housing.

It was noted that the Cabinet of Ministers formed a working group headed by the Minister of Construction, which included senior officials of the relevant ministries and departments. Some work has already been done.

By the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan from 28 November  2019, a new procedure for providing the population with housing through mortgage loans was introduced, based on market principles. In accordance with it, targeted benefits are provided for low-income strata of the population instead of the supply of construction materials at a reduced price to existing construction contractors and the establishment of tax incentives.

In particular, it is envisaged to allocate subsidies to citizens who do not have high incomes and need to improve their living conditions for the initial payment or to cover part of the interest on the loan.

In addition, in addition to this, on the basis of the Tax Code for homeowners, the cost of which does not exceed 300 million soums, an annual income tax benefit of 15 million soums has been established.

It is also envisaged to create a unified electronic database of construction companies operating in the online system, hold competitive tenders and apply measures to control state construction through the national information system "Transparent Construction".

In addition, at the meeting, it was especially noted that, given the important role in the life of the population of the construction sector, today such tasks as ensuring transparency of the effective use of allocated funds, attracted investments, modernization, accelerated and innovative development of the sector, quality assurance and construction control on based on best practices, effective application of the introduced new order.

In particular, it was noted the importance of strengthening measures aimed at bringing regulatory norms in the field of construction to the level of advanced foreign experience, ensuring openness and transparency of all processes in the field of construction, taking measures to reduce construction costs based on foreign experience, strengthening the responsibility of construction organizations violating consumer rights. They also talked about the feasibility of establishing the provision of affordable mortgage loans.

In addition, the meeting noted the need to simplify the procedure for issuing subsidies for the purchase of housing and the applied credit policy to citizens in need of housing, ensuring compliance with the requirements of a market economy in the practice of delivering building materials in a centralized manner, introducing an electronic (online) system to ensure transparency in construction. sphere, creating an open database on housing.

After an active discussion on this issue, a corresponding resolution of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis was adopted.