The government instructed the FAS to check the rise in prices for building materials

The Russian government has instructed the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) to check the unreasonable increase in prices for construction materials, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said on the sidelines of the international exhibition “Russia”, writes TASS.

“We discussed the rising cost of materials. This worries us. We see that the cement has grown once again, that the fittings have grown, the pipes have grown. This all affects the cost. <...> We have given the FAS instructions to work where this, in our opinion, unreasonable growth is taking place. And they asked local governors to control it,” he said.

Khusnullin, during his speech at the forum, said that the sanctions hit the construction industry, but also brought their advantages.

“The sanctions hit complex construction projects, but we hardly noticed anything about simple construction projects – roads. Our problem is mainly with imported road equipment, which we do not produce. But builders are people who are used to everything, they adapt very quickly,” he said.

The restrictions also have “big advantages,” the Deputy Prime Minister believes. If sanctions had not been imposed, Russia might not have developed its own production, he suggested.

“And now we are actively developing the production of our own materials, components of engineering systems – because people understand that it is easier to produce here than to transport from somewhere abroad with an incomprehensible offset system,” Khusnullin explained.