The government says its actions are the result of its concerns for tenants' safety. But City Hall's head of construction, Vladimir Resin, has threatened to alert the anti-monopoly authorities if the "misunderstanding" remains unresolved much longer.
Last year, more than 4 million square meters of housing were erected in the Moscow region. According to the Ministry of Construction in the Moscow region, the total volume of construction will reach 30 million square meters before 2010 and 3 million square meters of old housing will be demolished.
Moscow's housing construction companies entered the Moscow region in 2001, when the first buildings constructed by DSK-1, appeared in Khimki. In 2002-2003, DSK-1 was actively developing the western Moscow region in Krasnogorsk and Odintsovo. Inteko and SU-155 joined in by building in the Kutuzovsky area near Odintsovo. GK PIK did not get left out either and promised to build 900,000 square meters of housing in the Novokurkino area of Khimki.
Nevertheless, Moscow's builders face serious competition in the region. About 20 regional construction companies make up the nonprofit partnership Mosoblstroi. Mosoblstroi is conducting one of the largest projects in the Moscow region -- 600,000 square meters of construction in the Dolgoprudny area.
The governor of the Moscow region, Boris Gromov, published a resolution on March 4 that recommended freezing the construction of panel apartment housing that does not have the State Construction Committee, or Gosstroi, certificate of compliance.
The Moscow region has labeled eight models of buildings constructed by DSK-1, DSK-2 and DSK-3 as being antiquated. Instead of Moscow's panel apartment buildings, it recommends that other housing models, built by regional companies, should be constructed.
City Hall responded to its neighbors at a news conference late last month. The Chair of Gosstroi, Nikolai Koshman, said that all the mentioned construction companies had construction licenses and that their products fulfilled the construction norms and standards of the state.
Moscow's construction head Resin said it was strange that the most competitive building models were being taken off the construction market.
"If our talks with the regional heads will not bring about any results, we will file a case with the anti-monopoly committee," Resin said.
Andrei Barikovsky, the minister for press and information of the Moscow region, told Vedomosti that the region's recommendation concerned mainly new projects.
"This means that in the future only the most modern technologies will be used in construction," Barikovsky said. The panel housing that was already being built "will certainly be completed," he added.
Deputy general director of DSK-1 Andrei Pankovsky said that investors and contractors are carrying out construction in most of the region's areas that are closest to Moscow.
"Moscow region construction companies have not reached such volumes yet. They will be unable to handle them," he said.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.