SFRB wants at least two billion more for the repairs of panel houses

Prague - The State Housing Development Fund (SFRB) is striving to increase the budget of the Panel program by at least two billion crowns. This was stated today by SFRB director Jan Wagner at the Construction 2008 conference. The government has allocated 1.5 billion crowns to the Panel this year, which is about a third of last year's amount. The money from the program is intended to support the reconstruction and repair of panel buildings.
    "We will need more money than our budget allows," Wagner noted, as the number of applications for funds from the program has been increasing year by year. If SFRB does not receive additional funds for the panel, it will have to limit some parts of the program. "We would probably have to provide lower state support; we would likely have to tighten the conditions under which support is provided," he added.
    So far this year, it is not possible to apply for funds from the Panel, according to the SFRB director. The fund will begin accepting applications only at the end of February or in March, once it is clear what financial resources will actually be available for the repairs of panel buildings. Based on that, SFRB will also determine the conditions for obtaining funds from the program.
    This year, the government suspended eight of the 11 different SFRB programs, while introducing one new one. It allocated approximately a third of last year's 4.3 billion crowns to the Panel program, whereas in 2006 it was 1.6 billion.
    According to previous announcements by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, Ondřej Jakob, SFRB received funds from privatization proceeds until 2005. A total of 33 billion crowns came in this way. "SFRB significantly utilized these sources in the form of non-repayable grants for specific housing support programs," Jakob stated. However, he said that this type of funding is no longer possible, as providing non-repayable grants has exhausted the available resources.
    In recent years, including 2008, the SFRB budget does not account for any subsidies from the state budget, as this does not allow for the reduction of the state budget deficit, Jakob added. The fund's revenues this year are expected to be 1.25 billion crowns, and total expenditures 3.2 billion. The difference in income and expenditures is covered by the remnants from previous years.
    Experts estimate the total costs for necessary repairs and reconstructions of all panel buildings in the country to be approximately 350 billion crowns.