Better late than never – Kommersant newspaper No. 153 (7354) of 08/23/2022

The Ministry of Construction, which received this spring the authority to administer the Federal Targeted Investment Program (FAIP), would like to soften one of the important budgetary norms for government construction contracts. Customers are invited to be allowed to complete settlements with contractors even after October 1 – without consequences in the form of suspension of operations for payment of contracts and withdrawal of appropriations. The measure was proposed by the department against the backdrop of difficulties with the availability of building materials and equipment. Market participants support the idea, noting that its implementation will allow those contractors who, for reasons beyond their control, cannot complete contracts on time to complete the work in a planned manner.

The Ministry of Construction proposed to suspend for 2022 the operation of certain budgetary norms in relation to state construction contracts. The draft government decree developed by the department provides for the refusal to apply to such contracts the requirements for the completion of settlements no later than October 1. Let us clarify that, under current rules, if budget recipients do not pay contracts by this date, such operations will be suspended, and budget allocations (in particular, the balance of 2021 funds) will be withdrawn and cannot be carried over to the next year.

In explaining the proposal, the Ministry of Construction refers to the “current geopolitical and economic environment,” which also affects the availability of building materials and equipment. It should be noted that the problems in this area are associated both with rising prices (due to which the cost of some state contracts is now being revised), and with the significantly complicated process of purchasing foreign products (the share of imports in building materials is 5-10%, in engineering and high-tech equipment – 5–30%).

The Ministry of Construction warns that if the requirement for settlements is applied by October 1, there may be risks of incomplete disbursement of budget funds and, consequently, a delay in the commissioning of facilities, including those included in the FTIP. It should be noted that it is the insufficient disbursement of funds and the appearance of long-term construction in the public sector from year to year that is one of the key problems in the implementation of FTIP. The problem (in addition to the low level of budgetary discipline) was also the lack of flexibility in the administration of the program. The mechanism for “transferring” money between objects has already been simplified, but this was more a solution for individual projects – now we are talking about overcoming industry-wide difficulties.

The FAIP has allocated 962 billion rubles for this year. for the construction of 1.2 thousand facilities. As Lyubov Arapova, adviser to the vice-president of the CSR, notes, the removal of strict deadlines for the completion of settlements will prevent project disruptions. In 2022, 282 objects should be commissioned – as of June 1, only 11 were put into operation. According to the results of the first half of the year, Ms. Arapova notes, construction was financed from the federal budget by 563 billion rubles – this is 63.3% of the limit.

NOSTROY President Anton Glushkov says that this association supports the proposal of the Ministry of Construction and even proposes to extend the measure on a permanent basis. Now, Mr. Glushkov explains, contractors are not always able to fulfill contracts on time for reasons beyond their control – the removal of such a restriction “will affect them favorably”, while the rest will receive funds in accordance with the contracts and the terms of payments for completed work.

Ilya Ponomarev, an expert of the Public Council under the Ministry of Construction, adds that many projects are now being reworked in terms of technical solutions and adjusting the estimated cost: the result of objective difficulties. Osnova Group President Alexander Ruchev agrees: “Government contracts are paid upon their closure, so the possibility of completing settlements by the end of the year in the current situation is a timely decision that will allow contractors to work as planned and the state to receive its facilities.”

The Ministry of Finance did not comment on the initiative of the Ministry of Construction yesterday, the department told Kommersant that the project had been received and would be considered.

Evgenia Kryuchkova