Ukrainian developers are taking into account the increased requirements for inclusiveness in housing projects under construction, and in some cases are adapting appropriate measures in finished projects, according to a survey of developers conducted by Interfax-Ukraine.
“We are trying to make the adjoining areas as barrier-free as possible. In the apartments for the military in Metropolis, we have specially expanded the entrance doors and interior openings. This will make the living space as comfortable and inclusive as possible. All subsequent phases are already being designed to meet the increased requirements for inclusivity,” the press service of the DIM group of companies said.
The company’s residential complexes are also equipped with elevators accessible to passengers with different mobility capabilities and control panels with Braille labeling and voice notifications.
In addition, the developer can adapt previously constructed buildings to the new inclusivity requirements if necessary.
“As for the facilities put into operation earlier, we are ready to cooperate with the management companies of these buildings, if they make a corresponding request,” DIM noted.
City One Development uses a similar approach, increasing the inclusiveness of infrastructure in ready-made buildings whenever possible.
“All of our projects are initially designed with free access for people with different abilities and needs in mind. In the completed residential complexes, we later installed additional ramps for easier movement, and in the Novopecherski Lypky quarter we even installed an external elevator,” said Dmytro Novikov, Marketing Director of City One Development.
The absence of barriers, sharp elevation changes, wide doorways, and inclusive information signs and plaques are mandatory attributes in the overall architecture of housing projects, said Iryna Mykhalova, CMO of Alliance Novobud.
“All our residential complexes are designed and built in compliance with the current state building codes, in particular in terms of inclusiveness. Residential complexes that were built before the introduction of the current standards are equipped with ramps and other possible amenities,” the expert said.
In turn, KAN Development provides accessible angles of inclination of ramps and entrance groups in its projects, and the entrances to the buildings are designed without steps, the company’s press service reports. The residential complexes also have special parking spaces for people with disabilities.
According to Avalon CEO Roman Davymuka, inclusivity in the company’s projects is perceived as a “hygienic norm” rather than a feature.
“We are implementing all the requirements of the new DBN on inclusiveness. Our facilities have agreements for the purchase of apartments with the relevant requirements, and we understand that the measures meet real needs,” he said.
Meanwhile, the company is also trying to adapt its existing facilities to the new requirements, excluding changes that require structural alterations to the structures.
“Even in our facilities that already have permits and are under construction or are in the final stages of construction, we are trying to comply with these conditionally new DBN requirements, which came into force on September 1, 2022, as much as possible, adding visual navigation signs, tactile markings, and expanding ramps where possible. But we do not break down walls and expand already decorated corridors,” Davymuka explained.
The inclusiveness of spaces in the Greenville Park project is implemented according to the 8/80 principle, when the territory of the residential complex is comfortable for both an eight-year-old child and a pensioner, said project manager Oleksiy Shmatok.
“Such an environment includes a car-free courtyard, a wide pedestrian zone, ramps, elevators with a wide entrance and voice guidance, tactile tiles, signs, including Braille, and lighting. Functionality is the basis of this approach,” he said.
In addition, the system of pulling the elevator to the nearest floor has become relevant again, given the emergency power outages due to missile strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure, the expert noted.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in mainland China’s economy in January-April fell 27.9% year-on-year to 360.2 billion yuan ($49.7 billion), according to the country’s Ministry of Commerce.
That included 58.5 billion yuan in FDI last month, the lowest since November. The figure fell 36% year-over-year and 32% month-over-month.
In January-April, about 12.7% of total investment was in the PRC’s high-tech sector.
As reported, FDI in 2023 fell 8% to 1.13 trillion yuan.
Experts Club Analytical Center and Maxim Urakin released a video analysis of how the GDP of the world’s countries has changed in recent years, more video analysis is available here – https://youtu.be/w5fF_GYyrIc?si=BsZmIUERHSBJrO_3.
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CHINA, EXPERTS CLUB, GDP, INVESTMENT, MACROECONOMICS, URAKIN
The Ukrainian Weather Center has warned of severe weather conditions and the first level of danger due to possible thunderstorms accompanied by squally winds.
“In the next 2 hours, and until the end of the day on May 24, thunderstorms are expected in most western, central, southern and Zhytomyr regions, with squalls of 15-20 m/s in some places (yellow hazard level I),” the Ukrainian Weather Center said in a statement on Friday.
“Nova Poshta has launched a service for sending parcels between European countries where it has a Nova Post office.
The service is available in all countries where the company operates, except for Moldova, Romania, and the United Kingdom, the press service of Nova Poshta reported on Friday.
“Our mission is to make delivery easy for life and business. That is why we are not only expanding our network, but also expanding the range of services. From now on, Nova Post unites not only the EU with Ukraine, but also European countries with each other, providing fast, easy and safe delivery within two days,” commented Volodymyr Popereshnyuk, co-owner of Nova Poshta.
“Nova Poshta” customers from European countries can send documents, parcels or cargo up to 100 kg to other foreign branches of the company. The shipments are delivered to the branch, to the address, to a post office or to a parcel delivery point. The cost of delivery depends on the weight of the shipment and the distance between the countries. If you send a 2 kg parcel from Poland to Germany, the price at a Nova Post office will be PLN43, and to Spain – PLN65. Ordering a courier service will cost PLN10 in addition to the cost, the press service of Nova Poshta said.
It is noted that digital tools are also available for international shipments: a multilingual website, a mobile application, and a business account.
Earlier, Nova Poshta opened the first two Nova Post branches in the UK, and on the eve of April 30 – in Spain.
“Nova Poshta has more than 35 thousand points of service for sending and receiving parcels in Europe, of which 90 are its own Nova Post offices in 13 countries: Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Germany, Slovakia, Italy, Hungary, Moldova, Spain and the UK.
SKY Bank, a partner bank of the state program for affordable lending, has accredited DIM residential complexes under construction – houses No. 4 and No. 6 in LUCKY LAND residential complex and house No. 3 in Metropolis residential complex in Kyiv – for participation in the eHouse program, the developer’s press service reports.
“JSC SKY BANK welcomes the beginning of cooperation with the leading developer of the capital’s real estate market and continues to implement the strategic mission of the state preferential mortgage lending program “eOselya”, making it affordable for citizens to buy housing at the construction stage,” Volodymyr Chornenkyi, Retail Business Director, Member of the Management Board of JSC SKY BANK, said in the release.
Oleksandr Nasikovsky, Managing Partner of DIM, said that DIM regularly receives inquiries from clients about the possibility of buying an apartment under the eOselya state program.
“Everyone should have a home – we are convinced of this. Since the beginning of the year, we have commissioned more than 1,000 apartments and are actively working to develop comfortable conditions for our clients to purchase housing, in particular, we are working with the state program of affordable housing loans,” said Nasikovsky.
Lucky Land (6 Berkovetska St.) is a comfort-class residential complex designed as a multifunctional neighborhood with developed infrastructure. It includes 23 buildings with a height of 13-14 floors, a total of 5183 apartments, with a guest parking lot for 2.5 thousand and an underground parking lot for 356 cars. Under the eOselya program, mortgages are available for one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with an area of 41 sq. m. in building No. 3, which has already received a certificate of completion, and buildings No. 4 and No. 6, which are scheduled for commissioning in the third and fourth quarters of this year.
You can also buy an apartment under the eOselya program in the building No. 3 of the Metropolis residential complex under construction (1 Ak. Zabolotnoho St.), which is scheduled to be commissioned in the third quarter.
Apartments in the completed residential complex “Novyi Avtograf” (26, Knyazya Romana Mstyslavycha (General Zhmachenko) str.) are also available under the “eOselya” program.
As reported, the eOselya affordable mortgage lending program was launched in Ukraine in October 2022. Contract servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, employees of the security and defense sector, medical workers, teachers, and researchers can apply for a preferential mortgage at 3% per annum for up to 20 years with a down payment of 20% of the cost of housing.
Starting from August 1, 2023, war veterans, combatants, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and citizens who do not have their own housing larger than the standard area can apply for the eHouse program at a 7% discount.
Eight partner banks are integrated into this program: Oschadbank, PrivatBank, Ukrgasbank, Globus Bank, Sky Bank, Ukreximbank, SENS and Bank Credit Dnipro. You can apply for participation in the program in the Diia mobile application.
As of April 30, the volume of loans issued under the eHouse program reached UAH 14.9 billion, with loans issued to 9,613 families. At the same time, 2.9% of the apartments were purchased on the primary market, 71.7% on the secondary market, and 25.4% from developers.
DIM Group was founded in 2014 and consists of six companies covering all stages of construction. To date, 12 buildings in six residential complexes with a total residential area of over 218 thousand square meters have been commissioned. Six comfort+ and business class residential complexes are under construction: “New Autograph, Metropolis, Park Lake City, Lucky Land, A136 Highlight Tower, Olegiv Podil.
The reference exchange rate of the hryvnia to the US dollar on the interbank foreign exchange market as of 12:00 a.m. on May 24, 2024.
Reference hryvnia to US dollar exchange rate (UAH/$) 39.8825 40.0752 0.48
Source: NBU
