Belarusians to build housing projects in Venezuela
According to Aliaksandr Horval, the chief of housing department at the Ministry of Architecture, Minsk is lagging behind in terms of the housing construction targets.
“All of the regions, apart from Minsk, have met their Q3 targets ahead of schedule deadlines. 1076 million sq. m. of housing were supposed to be built. In order to meet the targets, additional 400 thousand sq. m. should have been built by the end of the year,” Horval said.
The more housing is constructed, the lower the prices are, explains Mikalai Prastalupau, director of a real estate agency in Minsk.
“At any market, the number of offers and the volume of demand directly affect prices. The more offers you have, the lower the price is. Vice verse, the lesser offers you have together with a huge demand, prices will soar. No doubt, the more housing is built, the lower the prices are”.
The expert says there is currently a shortage of builders, land plots and cement in Belarus. Who are we going to send to Venezuela?
Belarusian builders will not travel to Caracas, the European Radio for Belarus has learned. Workers will be hired in Venezuela, while engineers and designers will come from Belarus. According to Igar Silchanka, deputy director of the state-run building company Budtrest No 8 in Brest, Belarus will thus help reduce unemployment among Venezuelans.
The housing costs in Venezuela fluctuated around $550-$1200 per sq. m. last year, the European Radio for Belarus has learned. This is approximately the same price as in Belarus over the same period of time.
It is still unknown who exactly will travel to build housing projects in Caracas. Igar Silchanka noted that the decision would be taken on December 18. “The contract is signed, but there is no clear timeframe yet”. However, at least 7 engineers from Brest are confirmed to travel to Venezuela.
“People are studying Spanish. Then, they will undergo tests and interviews. Possibly, some would be ruled out”, Silchanka said.
He told our radio that Belarus is expected to build a total of 5000 apartments, worth $155 million, in the Venezuelan capital.
Different from the engineers in Brest, nobody seems to be rushing to Venezuela. Builders from the Minsk-based company MAPID say they have a lot of things to do in the Belarusian capital:
“We are not sending people to Venezuela. They have not called us yet, and this is good. God help us finish what we have to finish here in Minsk”.
Even Anatol Nichkasau, Deputy Architecture Minister of Belarus, is not aware who will travel to Caracas.
It is clear at least that the construction engineers who will fly to Caracas will have an opportunity to make some bucks. They are expected to get at least $1500 per month. Builders in Brest currently are paid an average of Br850,000 ($425) monthly.
