Millions of square metres in response to the housing problem

Hard made decision to demolish houses in dilapidated condition

From the very beginning, the construction field has become one of the most important directions for TAIF. The work started afte the emergence in Tatarstan of the idea to establish the Presidential Fund for demolition of old houses. The program was entrusted on the State Housing Fund, established on 30 March, 1995. 'The decision to end with this 'problem of the century' in such difficult, economically unstable time, during perestroika, seemed to be not only strange but also unachievable,' told in the written specially for Realnoe Vremya article the first President of Tatarstan, a RT State Counselor Mintimer Shaimiev. The 'tax' on old house demolition appeared in the Republic from the signing of the decree. It is 1% of total volume of sold products payed by all enterprises with no exception. However, later a milder variant was adopted — voluntary contributions. TAIF had to take the function of material resources supply by the order of the government. It was a period, when the economic contacts were lost and the construction industry was in decline. Nobody wanted to do that work because of the crisis. As the Executive Director of the State Housing Fund Talgat Abdullin told, 'TAIF is one of the first companies that took active part in the development and that took a loan to finance the activities of the Fund, organized the supply of more than 160 thousand tonnes of cement, more than 130 thousand tonnes of metals, pipes and other equipment.'

TAIF had to take the function of material resources supply by the order of the government. It was a period, when the economic contacts were lost and the construction industry was in decline. Photo: sibpress.ru

'Later, experience has shown that it would be more reasonable for the success to establish a special body, which would provide the construction process with metals, sand, cement and other building materials, as well as perform construction works. That is why a subsidiary company Meta-TAIF was established, which immediately started to build houses in Kazan under the program of old housing,' told the Deputy Director General of TAIF for construction and major overhaul Ilgiz Latypov.

Of course, the leadership of TAIF company realized that materially they would more lose that gain. However, socially it gave an opportunity for the low-income population to move from old houses of almost nineteen century to the modern new houses. 'During perestroika, people were in miserable situation. The decision to demolish old houses was made through suffering. Also, there was another premise. The Republic adopted the declaration on state sovereignty, we declared independence. Thus we took responsibility for the fates of our people. Perhaps, it is an exaggeration if I tell that for the region where winter lasts six months housing is a life-changing problem,' believes Mintimer Shaimiev.

In total, in the framework of the program implementation, 1,763 new residential houses were built, 2,7 million square metres of housing were commissioned. Photo: Mikhail Kozlovsky

62,7% of old houses in the centre of Kazan

There were many complaints about the housing fund. In Kazan, at the beginning of 1995, out of 31,907 families living in the old houses, 20,000 families, it is 62.7% of the total amount, lived in the old fund located in the central area of the city. Sometimes people lived in unbearable conditions. It is those who did not have any prospect for improving of living conditions — the elderly, low-income families, mostly native citizens of Kazan.

After a year, in December of 1997, two 12-storey residential houses in the Azino microdistrict were built and inhabited, which immediately attracted attention. Due to the efforts of TAIF, the construction industry of Tatarstan had a second wind and it began developing as an industry. The concrete plant was put into operation, as well as the sand-lime brick plant. During this period, the State Housing Fund mastered the monolithic construction, cast-frame with effective insulation. They developed the methods for the economic evaluation of design solutions, used structures and materials, operational characteristics, the system of warranty support of the constructed houses. For the first time the mass construction of 18-storey panel residential buildings was started. A certain standard of social housing was formed. At certain points, the Fund switched to the construction of brick houses to employ more labour and to provide people with jobs. Then the Azino-2 microdistrict was fully built by the efforts of the State Housing Fund. The development of the microdistrict was complex, as well as it was practiced in Naberezhnye Chelny: along with the residential houses there were built schools, kindergartens, shops, shopping centers.

'He is a sensible person'

In total, in the framework of the program implementation, 1,763 new residential houses were built, 2,7 million square metres of housing were commissioned, 48,6 thousand apartments were built and handed free to people moving from old houses. In the result, the housing stock depreciation decreased from 60% to 45%. The share of the Fund in the total housing area, commissioned in Tatarstan in residential houses, at the moment of the program fulfillment, in 1996-2004, was more than 30%.

'Talgat Abdullin played and plays a huge creative and organizational role,' says Mintimer Shaimiev. 'I heard about him in the times of construction of KAMAZ and of Naberezhnye Chelny city. The strong system of Stroybank of the USSR serviced this Soviet construction works. That is why there was order in the construction process, there was an appropriate control over funds, over the observance the construction standards. Those, who were working in Stroybank at that time, were the specialists of high level. The main controller, then the manager of the branch of Stroybank in the USSR in Naberezhnye Chelny was Talgat Abdullin. In the first years of perestroika, he was also a political leader. Having watched at how he worked, I realized that it is possible to find common ground with him. I offered him to head the State Housing Fund. He agreed. Talgat Abdullin is a sensible person. He knows his onions, that is why he is very respected. In fact, we should be grateful for the honest implementation of his mission and for reliability.'

Special-purpose loan for initial payment and minus 8-10% of debt for seniority

Workers of TAIF group enterprises will get 4,513 flats from 2014 to 2016 on the Social Mortgage Programme. Photo: evening-kazan.ru

Even if the programme on liquidation of ramshackle houses ended in 2004, another programme appeared, whish is home loan. As work on improvement of living conditions of the workers of the enterprise is the key direction of the social policy of TAIF, the multisectoral holding voluntarily expends money on the realisation of Social Mortgage Programme every year. 'The workers of TAIF group enterprises will get 4,513 flats from 2014 to 2016 on the Social Mortgage Programme, Development Programme of Industrial Complexes and additional programme on sale of flats together with Avers,' Talgat Abdullin told. For instance, 586 families of the workers of Kazanorgsintez PJSC, which is a part of TAIF GC, improved their living conditions from 2005 to 2014. A house on Serova Street was peopled a long time ago. Three multi-storey blocks of flats (two with 158, one with 215 flats) are located in the Moscow District of Kazan on Vosstania Street.

There was also signed an agreement with the State Housing Fund about an allocation of 1,600 flats for the workers of the factory in a new microdistrict called Salavat Kupere for 50,000 residents, where TAIF completely provided with engineering infrastructure at 760m rubles. During the commissioning in December last year, the Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov noted it was a unique case when one company was responsible for all works. 22 employees of the Kazan CHP-3, which is an energy generating facility of TGC-16 PJSC, and 14 workers of Kazanorgsintez PJSC got their long-awaited keys in this district.

22 employees of the Kazan CHP-3, which is an energy generating facility of TGC-16 PJSC, and 14 workers of Kazanorgsintez PJSC got their long-awaited keys in Salavat Kupere. Photo: Maksim Platonov

At the same time the administration of the enterprises and the major shareholder in the person of TAIF decided to grant their workers a 15-year special-purpose loans for the initial payment while purchasing a house. And interests are compensated by the enterprises. Due to this opportunity, the workers of the enterprises of the company can count on a sum equal to 20% of the price of the house they choose. The workers who took out this loan and worked in the enterprise conscientiously and without complaints have the right to additional benefits. For example, those people who will work in the enterprise for over 5 years from the moment when they took out the loan, the enterprise will annually 'forgive' from 8% to 10% of the sum of the debt. And if a worker conscientiously worked in TAIF GC during the whole term of the loan, all his debt will be written off as an additional benefit for a fruitful work.

37 houses will be prepared for the workers of the backbone enterprises of Nizhnekamsk included in the holding. Photo: Maksim Platonov

Workers of the Nizhnekamsk group of the TAIF enterprises actively house on the same terms. '37 houses in the 47 ^th and 49^th microdistricts will be prepared for the workers of the backbone enterprises of Nizhnekamsk included in the holding. People have already moved in 10 houses in the 47^th microdistrict,' told Talgat Abdullin. Over 12,000 people will be living here just in 2 years. Workers of Nizhnekamskneftekhim, TAIF-NK and CHP are among them. Industrial enterprises could not give flats so actively even when there was a free distribution of flats during the construction of NKNKH in Nizhnekamsk and erection of KAMAZ in Naberezhnye Chelny.