MOSCOW. Nov 19 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia will spend over 18 billion rubles ($630.98 million) on solving housing problems of servicemen and their family members next year, Major General Nikolai Bezborodov, member of the State Duma defense committee, said on Friday.
"Out of this sum, 5.5 billion rubles ($192.67 million) will be allocated directly for housing provision to servicemen, nine billion ($315.29 million) for the State Housing Certificates program, three billion ($105.1 million) for building service housing, and about one billion ($35.03 million) for paying installments in the framework of the mortgage system," Bezborodov told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The number of servicemen's families in need of housing has increased by nearly 20,000 in the past few years. "This is mostly due to the reduction in the volumes of housing construction by the Defense Ministry," he said.
In 2002, servicemen's families received 26,300 apartments whose construction or procurement was funded out of the federal budget, but in 2003, the figure dropped to 21,800. "According to experts, the figure will decline again this year. And allocations for next year will only be enough to procure 10,000 apartments. But I am only talking about procurement directly through the Defense Ministry," Bezborodov said.
"The number of servicemen in need of housing will stop growing next year, because all newcomers will take part in the mortgage program," he stressed.