Manturov urged the regions to limit, rather than suspend, industrial enterprises in the construction industry

The head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov sent a letter to the governors of all Russian regions with an order to ensure the uninterrupted operation of industrial enterprises, trade organizations and the service sector during non-working days in April 2020.

The corresponding order “On the work of industrial enterprises in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic” signed by the State Secretary and Deputy Minister Viktor Yevtukhov was sent to the heads of 85 regions on April 7.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade asks the heads of the regions, when considering issues related to the suspension (limitation) of industrial enterprises in the entities, to make decisions to restrict, rather than suspend, the activities of enterprises providing responsible construction projects, the operation of continuous metallurgical and construction materials industries.

It is emphasized that this decision should be made by the heads of regions if there are appropriate letters of confirmation from metallurgical enterprises, manufacturers of building materials and provided that the heads of such organizations provide the necessary sanitary and hygienic standards in accordance with the recommendations of the Russian Ministry of Health and Rospotrebnadzor.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia instructed senior officials of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to ensure the development and implementation of a set of restrictive and other measures, including the suspension (restriction) of activities of individual organizations located in the respective territories, regardless of the legal form.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade notes that restrictive and other measures do not apply to continuously operating organizations:

“The requirement does not limit the production activities of Russian metallurgical enterprises, cement and glass factories, manufacturers of certain types of structural, insulating and other types of building materials, but at the same time imposes specific restrictions on the operation of supporting industries (suppliers of raw materials (including scrap and black waste) and non-ferrous metals), chemical components, consumables and components), as well as warehouse complexes located in the regions, which creates the preconditions for For disrupting the smooth operation of continuously operating metallurgical enterprises and manufacturers of building materials. "

The Ministry of Industry and Trade believes that this could negatively affect the provision of metal products and other building materials for regional construction projects, including those being implemented as part of the fight against the spread of new coronovirus infection (COVID-19), as well as cause significant disruptions in the operation of rail transportation due to overstocking of stations.

Comment by Anton Moroz, Vice President of NOSTROY (National Association of Builders):

"This is a very important decision of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which supported the need for the construction industry to work in difficult conditions of the epidemiological situation. Now, in addition to the Ministry of Construction and regional authorities, another Ministry has taken responsibility for the development of the construction industry."

Source: https://strategy24.ru/