Funding will be added to projects for integrated development of territories

The Ministry of Construction has prepared a draft government resolution expanding the use of the infrastructure bond mechanism to the preparatory stage of integrated territorial development projects (CTD). This measure will make it possible to provide preferential financing for the resettlement of emergency and dilapidated housing. It is planned to allow these funds to be spent on the demolition of buildings, as well as on paying compensation to owners and purchasing apartments for resettlement. Experts note that now the insufficient availability of loans at the initial stage of CRT projects is the main “brake” on their development.

The draft government resolution developed by the Ministry of Construction extends the infrastructure bond mechanism to the preliminary stage of integrated territorial development projects (CTD). Let us explain that such bonds are placed by a specialized project finance company (a subsidiary of DOM.RF) and the funds raised are sent to developers in the form of subsidized loans at a preferential rate of 4% per annum for a period of up to 30 years. Now this money is used to create road, engineering and social infrastructure during the construction of housing, the construction of energy facilities, as well as the creation of citywide infrastructure and rental houses. According to DOM.RF, 46 projects are currently being implemented using this mechanism; the total amount of preferential loans for them is 150 billion rubles. New projects worth 300 billion rubles are also being considered.

According to the project, it is proposed to finance from these funds additional work to prepare the territory for new construction within the framework of the CRT, including the demolition of buildings, relocation of networks, assessment of the market value of objects subject to demolition, payment of compensation to owners and the acquisition of apartments for resettlement.

The Ministry of Construction explains that the initial preparation of the territory in KRT projects is the main capital-intensive stage. The possibility of attracting loans within the framework of the infrastructure bond mechanism for the implementation of such activities, says the explanatory note to the project, “will reduce the costs of their implementation and speed up the implementation of CRT projects.”

As Alexander Aksakov, director of the Infrastructure Bonds division of DOM.RF, explains, the project allows, through the infrabond mechanism, to provide preferential financing for the resettlement of emergency and dilapidated housing. The implementation of such plans requires significant investments, but most developers do not have the necessary amounts of their own funds for projects with a long payback period, and high interest rates on loans at the current key rate become an obstacle in KRT projects.

NOSTROY President Anton Glushkov says that the association clearly supports the proposed changes, which are primarily aimed at increasing the investment attractiveness of projects. Konstantin Porotsky, an expert at the Public Council under the Ministry of Construction, notes that the changes will make it possible to “prepare the territory much faster, which may reduce the cost of construction and further sale of housing itself” – in particular, financing through long-term borrowings will reduce the credit burden and thereby increase the efficiency of the project .

According to Anton Glushkov, the issue of availability of loans at the initial stage of the project is now the main obstacle to the development of the KRT. He explains that at least two years pass from the moment the KRT agreement is concluded until the start of construction, and the developer must take out a loan at 18% per annum and bear costs at this rate until escrow accounts appear, which increases the cost of construction.

Evgenia Kryuchkova