Kirill Seleznyov, Gazprom's Management Committee Member and Mezhregiongaz's Director General and Vladimir Averchenko, Head of the Federal Agency for Construction and Housing signed yesterday in Moscow the Cooperation Agreement on housing development and modernization in the regions of the Russian Federation.

Pursuant to the Document signed, the parties will focus on: enhancing the operating efficiency of housing facilities, attracting investments into Russia's housing sector, improving the utilities billing, payment and purpose-oriented financing system, contributing to the establishment of organizational, financial and legislative mechanisms with the view of reforming the housing sector, introducing market-based methods of utility rate regulations, financial rehabilitation of housing facilities and their shifting over to lossless functioning.

The Agreement identifies top priority directions of joint activities:

• power generation and energy saving while rendering/using utility services;
• technically modernizing housing facilities, introducing advanced technologies, equipment and materials;
• improving and developing the utilities billing, collection and processing system;
• developing the system of voluntary certification of works/services provided by utility companies;

To ensure fulfillment of commitments fixed in the Agreement, the parties formed a Working Group.

Reference:

The Federal Agency for Construction and Housing (before 9 March 2004 known as the Gosstroy of Russia) is a federal executive body exercising control over state property in the construction, urban construction, industry, building materials and housing sector. A total of over 52 thousand entities and organizations with more than 4,200 million hires are currently operating in this sector. In 2003, works and services provided within the sector were estimated at RUR 877 billion, or 5.9% of Russia's gross domestoc product. One of the critical problems the sector is facing - considerable debt accrued by utilities.

DIVISION OF RELATIONS WITH MASS MEDIA