Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan visited the State Committee for Urban Development to get acquainted with the activities and priorities completed in 2017, as well as the tasks set for 2018.
The Premier was told that in the reporting period architectural and urban planning requirements were set for building facades, roofs, exterior doors, windows proportions, color solutions and construction materials, and simpler procedures were established for engineering infrastructures. Guidelines were developed in terms of recommended color solutions for the roofs of newly built, reconstructed, renovated buildings in RA settlements, which were presented to Marz governors for consideration and proposals.
Appreciating the work done in the aforementioned directions, Karen Karapetyan instructed the Committee leadership to monitor the process in all communities in order to ensure full compliance with the proposed requirements.
The procedure for elaborating, examining, coordinating, approving and modifying community Master Plans and combined space planning documents has been revised. In this regard, the Premier emphasized, “Urban planning documentation should be made more applicable and accessible, they have to be developed in accordance with the “rules of the game” defined by the State Committee for Urban Development.”
In order to develop and promote business activities in the field of urban development, engineering infrastructure-related procedures have been significantly simplified. A proposal for amending the existing procedure has been developed to define clear-cut regulations for the permit granting process, which provides that a significant part of the functions shall be carried out electronically through the www.e-permits.am unified system. Efforts are underway to develop a maintenance facility for the online permits system.
Prime Minister Karapetyan was also informed about the work that will help improve our country’s position in the World Bank’s Doing Business report.
The Head of Government instructed to set clear deadlines for implementing all urban development reforms and report back to the Government on a regular basis. At the same time, the Prime Minister noted that the task is not only to improve Armenia’s rating, but first of all, to make our country more attractive to foreign investors. “Our main goal is to change the conditions so that the country develops,”the Prime Minister emphasized.
It was also reported that a program aimed at solving housing problems of homeless families continued in 2017, under which AMD 560 million was provided from the State budget to cope with the housing problems of about 100 families.
According to the responsible officers, the disaster zone housing program has been implemented by 90%. In the period from 2008 to 2017, 4839 families were accommodated with about 65 billion drams. The housing problems of those families recognized as program beneficiaries in urban areas have been addressed completely. The housing problems of the remaining 10% or 542 families in the disaster zone’s rural settlements will be settled by the end of 2020.
The Committee has finalized the number of multi-apartment buildings in the country’s residential areas, including the number of buildings of 3rd and 4th degree of breakdown, their management form, as well as the actual state of common shared property based on information available from Marz administrations and the Yerevan City Hall. The results of the relevant analysis and the outlined priorities, as well as the recommendations for their solution will be submitted to the Government Staff in due course.
It was noted that there are 209 state-owned and community-owned semi-finished buildings in the country, of which 147 can be brought to completion, while the others are subject to demolition. Karen Karapetyan instructed to submit a relevant proposal regarding the mentioned 147 facilities, taking into consideration the housing problems of different families and the possibility of involving the private sector in their resolution.
It was also noted that as part of the activities of the interdepartmental working group established in accordance with the Prime Minister’s decision, the Committee’s proposals on the new law on management of multi-apartment building had been submitted to the Ministry of Justice in the form of a draft.
The meeting next focused on the pricing mechanisms applicable in the construction sector and the activities carried out in that direction. Karen Karapetyan said that the investment projects implemented and planned in the field of urban development, as well as the projects implemented under the Committee’s orders, should be further discussed at a follow-up consultation to be held in the Prime Minister’s Office.